


The Angel of Death

by Dessarious



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Assassin Marinette, Gen, I have no idea what I'm doing but it's going to be interesting, MariBat, Non cannon - Freeform, death and bloodshed, honorable assassin, not to be transferred or posted to any other site or third party app without author permission
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:26:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 44
Words: 46,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22624774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dessarious/pseuds/Dessarious
Summary: This is based on a story starter off Tumblr by @someone-ev you can find the link to it in my tumblr post of this story @dessariousThe Angel of Death is feared the world over by the corrupt and morally bankrupt. At the same time she is revered by their victims. Most will only whisper her name for fear of drawing her notice. No one knows what she looks like and she has become a legend, a fairytale people tell their children about at night.But the Angel of Death is a real person, with a real history that has turned her into one of the most dangerous people the world has ever known, and she's about to gain even more power. The question is will she continue to uphold her own code of honor, or will she be corrupted by the lure of ultimate power?Cross posted on Tumblr @dessarious
Comments: 350
Kudos: 952





	1. Prologue

The Angel of Death sat on a rooftop stalking her prey. Her target was a particularly vile slumlord and she was itching to just gut him and be done with it. Unfortunately he had certain protections in place and if his death didn’t appear natural everyone who rented from him would be out on the street. It was only the discipline she’d learned in the League of Assassins that kept her to her plan even if harming his tenants was the last thing she wanted to do. So she waited.

She waited for night to fall. She waited for everyone else to leave. She waited for him to eat his takeout. She waited for him to make calls and do paperwork. She waited for exactly the right moment to sneak into his office. Then she waited for him to light up his nightly cigar. Only after he’d finished half of it did she make her presence known. The poison was already coursing through his body. In reality she didn’t need to be her at all. But she preferred to look her kills in the eye. She wanted them to know exactly who was ending their life no matter how she had to do it.

He tried to yell when she stepped out of the shadows, but his vocal chords were already paralyzed. He reached for his gun and dropped it from fingers that wouldn’t do his bidding. He reached for his panic button and did manage to hit it. Unfortunately for him she’d already disconnected it earlier in the day when she’d switched out his cigars. She could see him start to panic when the alarm didn’t go off. She watched his expression turn to horror as he realized his entire body was shutting down. Then she saw the terror when his lungs stopped working. Saw him fight to take a breath. She saw all the life drain out of his eyes as he slowly suffocated.

It was far less hands on than she was used to, but she still found it fascinating. Normally her kills were quick and efficient so their reactions weren’t nearly as interesting. Maybe confusion or disbelief appeared as she slid a blade in, but this sequence of struggle and panic was… exhilarating. She’d have to use slower methods again to see if they reacted the same. Not to mention death was final but the moments before that let her targets feel everything they made other feel on a regular basis. Drawing it out like this… this was what they deserved.

She was in the middle of reconnecting the switch and replacing the laced cigars when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She hadn’t expected to be contacted for another job so soon. She pulled it out to read the message sent to her work email. She couldn’t really take it in in the first reading because of who had sent it, so she had to go back through to find the mission. The Mayor of Paris wanted her to take out a magical terrorist that had shown up in the last month. Apparently he thought the heroes fight him were far too young to actually do their jobs properly. The Angel of death couldn’t help but smile at the irony.

She sent a message back saying she would be there in two weeks. This job was finished anyway. She just had a little bit of clean up to do and needed to stay and make sure the coroner labeled the death as natural. Once that was done she didn’t have anything lined up. She put it out of her mind until she finished and made it back to her hotel room. It was only then, in the darkness that had become her only comfort, that she really thought about what accepting this job really meant.

After six long years, three spent imprisoned by the League and three using the skills they’d taught her to eradicate vermin the world over, she was going back to Paris. At thirteen years old the Angel of Death, once known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was finally going home.


	2. Nightmares and Inconvenience

“What is your name child?” Marinette just glared at the woman in front of her, her seven year old body trembling in both fear and rage. She’d run out of tears hours ago and now she could only try to follow her Maman’s teaching. Stand tall and proud no matter what happens and don’t talk to strangers. The fact that she wanted to scratch the woman’s eyes out helped her attitude greatly. “That attitude of yours will serve you well on the whole, but being defiant towards me is a grave error girl.”

“She is my match mother you can’t just expect her to roll over and beg.” The boy next to her spoke up and she was forced to acknowledge his presence again. He was about her age and as much as she wanted to like him all she could think about was his hands holding her back. She felt that the string connecting them was a curse and that put another knot in her stomach. How often had her parents told her that soulmates, especially ones with a red string, were a gift to be treasured? Strings came in all different colors and could even form between people after they’d met, but red strings were rare and she knew that, even if her parents said she was too young for them to tell her why.

“I don’t have time for this nonsense. If she doesn’t want to talk fine. You wanted her, you can name her.” The woman stalked out of the room leaving her alone with the boy. She tried to find something in him to like, but his past actions and the cold calculating look in his eyes were things she just couldn’t see past.

“I’m Damian al Ghul, heir to Ra’s al Ghul and you will become worthy of me. Now what is your name.” Marinette just glared at him too. How dare he talk to her that way. She was fine the way she was, just like her Papa said. She saw a flash of approval in his eyes at her continued silence before annoyance took over. “Fine have it your way. Until you’ve learned your place and tell me your name I’ll call you… Eanid. Yes that will do nicely.”

——————————

Marinette started awake quickly getting her bearings and remembering where she was. She glanced at the time on her phone before relaxing back into her seat. She was on a train to Paris and there was still three hours left before she got there. The nightmares were a constant in her life and had been since that night. It had been a long time since that particular one had surfaced though. It was her last night in Paris and now that she was going back it must have triggered it. She pushed down the memories and tried to clear her mind as she watched the sky out the window.

“Everything alright sweetheart?” The woman across from her spoke up and Marinette forced herself not to roll her eyes. She wasn’t facing the woman but if she was paying attention she’d see it in the glass. Instead she turned to offer her a bright smile.

“Fine, thank you. Just a strange dream. It’s very kind of you to ask Mme Arsenau.” The woman seemed to think she needed to keep an eye on Marinette. Yes she was small even for her age but she’d told the woman that her parents had put her on the train to go visit her grandparents who would be picking her up. She still insisted that she should help Marinette find them once they got there. She was already planning how she’d ditch the woman, hopefully before they got off the train.

Yes, she was just being a kind and concerned adult but it was very inconvenient for Marinette at the moment. It didn’t help that she could barely remember a time when adults were more than targets or obstacles to overcome. She should be going over the information she’d gathered about the situation in Paris but the way Mme. Arsenau was hovering made that next to impossible. It would be one thing if it was just articles on the attacks, and those she had looked at, but what she really needed to study were maps and building layouts, demographics and target areas. The maps might be excusable as a tourist but the others would look suspicious especially for a child.

Her plan was less than half formed and that was unacceptable. Adding magic into the equation was always a headache but given this villain’s unique skill set there was only one way to find him quickly and she wasn’t honestly certain it was a good idea. If she didn’t do it though, she was in for a long stay when she could be taking other jobs and getting paid. There were too many unknowns and the Mayor was useless for information. The heroes didn’t seem like they’d be much help either judging from the videos she’d seen. They were holding their own for now but it was obvious that neither were trained for battle. The catboy had training in fencing but that seemed to be it and didn’t always translate well to the fighting they had to do. They were also playing defense so they’d be no help in finding Hawkmoth’s physical location anyway.

“Don’t worry about that awful man dear. Getting yourself worked up will only make you a target and I’m sure the heroes or the police will have him sorted out soon.” Marinette fought once again to keep a straight face. If only she knew. “Do you know if your grandparents have anything fun planned for your stay? You should get them to take you…” And she was off. Marinette spent the rest of the train ride listening to all the amazing things Paris had to offer. She tried her best to act engaged, and felt she pulled it off fairly well, but she was beyond relieved when the conductor announced they were fifteen minutes from their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Eanid means stubborn in Arabic, assuming of course google isn’t screwing with me***


	3. Putting the Plan into Action

As she collapsed on the bed in her hotel room Marinette thanked Hawkmoth for his timing, even if she was going to kill him. She hadn’t been able to ditch Mme. Arsenau as she’d planned and had been waiting on the platform for ten minutes so she could hand her off to her fictional grandparents. When the screams started she’d sighed in relief before quickly getting lost in the crowd.

She’d been able to see the heroes in action and most of her original observations held, though watching them up close she could tell they were far more comfortable around each other than she’d originally thought. She didn’t know if it was a recent development or it simply hadn’t translated well in video. Either way it was something she’d have to account for if her plan was going to work.

Marinette got as close as she could when the Akuma was defeated to try and get an idea of the victim’s mindset. They were disoriented and confused which could be an issue, but the memory loss was especially problematic. Still too many unknowns, too much that could go wrong.

She flipped over to stare at the ceiling debating what her next course of action should be. She could hear Talia’s voice in her head even after all this time telling her she needed to know every move her target made. The problem was that if she wanted to end this quickly she didn’t have that luxury. No one knew who Hawkmoth was and he didn’t show up to fights. She could definitely call him a coward since he was not only fighting against children but also seemed to prefer to use them as victims.

The man was not a mastermind, that she was sure of. Both the choice of victims and the powers he gave them showed an almost complete lack of strategy. It was more like he was throwing whatever he could come up with at the heroes assuming he’d hit paydirt eventually. The disorganization and inefficiency grated on her nerves if she was being honest. It should make her job easier though. He would be easy to trick if she played her hand correctly.

Letting out a tired sigh she grabbed her computer and began going through her research again, adding notes and looking up everything she could find. It wasn’t much. She hated going into an op blind like this. The only saving grace was that she had a resistance to magic. When Talia had found out about it she’d done ‘testing’ to see exactly how far it went. It was an extremely unpleasant experience but Marinette now had a much better understanding of her tolerance, even if she still didn’t know exactly how she’d gained such an ability. She knew her Nonna Gina had something to do with it but that was all she knew.

That magic resistance was vital to her current plan though. If it didn’t work her life and identity would be forfeit. All she had to do was keep him out of her thoughts. If she could manage that everything else would be simple. She’d give it a week to see if she could find more information. After that she needed to make a move.

———————–

The week passed and Marinette didn’t gain any new information. She did however find a rather large flaw in her plan and that was the fact she had far too much control over her emotions. Or maybe it was just that she’d become so numb to everything around her she couldn’t produce an emotion strong enough to tempt Hawkmoth. Whatever it was she needed a solution and fast. So she did the one thing she swore she wouldn’t do. She went to visit her parents.

The silence was oppressive. It closed in on Marinette until she was surprised she could still breathe. The air was still and calm making chills run up her spine even in the warm weather. As she walked through the grass her eyes darted everywhere looking for her target and any threats that may be out there, even though the odds of the second were astronomically low. Between her training and the feeling of unease that filled her body she couldn’t help the impulse. It took her almost an hour to find what she was looking for.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered the words as she knelt between two headstones. If not for her they would still be alive. If only she’d never been born, then everything would have been better. For the first time in what felt like forever she let her mind wander back to that night. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her parents names in front of her as she remembered the feeling of Damian grabbing her from behind, watching Talia come out of the shadows, and finally feeling the strings that connected her to her parents snap as their lives ended abruptly.

Her chest felt like it was in a vice and she couldn’t breathe. She heard her Papa calling her name before he was silenced as Talia’s knife slid quickly over his throat. She saw her mother try to run to her before that same blade found her heart. She heard her sobs, felt the tears on her face and couldn’t tell if it was the memory or what was happening now. She heard the soft rustle of wings and then a voice she didn’t know.

“Lady Justice, I am Hawkmoth and I can give you the power to avenge your loved ones.” Her anger spiked at the intrusion into this private moment before she remembered she had a job to do. She studied the connection and willed it to only see certain thoughts. It seemed to be working.

“No.” She felt his shock through the bond and wondered if anyone had fought him before. “I don’t want revenge. I want them back.” Silence. She could actually feel him probing her mind and gave up some memories from her childhood, back before everything had been destroyed.

“I can do that.” Now it was her turn to be shocked. Everything had limits and there was no way he could give her the power to raise the dead. Her skepticism shone through and she could feel his amusement. “Oh not currently, but if you get me the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous I can do that and more.”

“I’m just supposed to believe you? Even if what you say is true what prevents you from changing your mind once I get what you want?” After such a strong refusal upfront, she couldn’t cave in too fast and she could use this to learn more about her enemy.

“I too want to bring back a loved one. It’s why I’m doing all of this in the first place. Once I have the Miraculous it will be just as easy to bring back three as it would be to bring back one.” Marinette felt hope rise in her chest and let him feel it too. She would have crushed it immediately but she needed him to think she was on his side in this fight.

“I’ll help you but only if I get to choose my powers, and my look.” She couldn’t risk his usual brand of nonsense if she wanted to defeat the heroes. There was silence again. She wasn’t sure how long it lasted but it felt like hours.

“Deal.”


	4. Impatience and Annoyance

Lady Justice watched the heroes fight one of her clones from the shadows. She’d spent the last three days studying their fighting styles and looking for weaknesses. The biggest one was that they wouldn’t go for the kill. They’d been fighting clones this entire time and hadn’t figured it out because they were too busy trying to find the Akuma and save her.

“Stop playing with them and take their Miraculous.” Hawkmoth’s voice sounded in her head and she let out an annoyed breath. The man was impatient. It explained his complete lack of results so far.

“I’m not playing with them, I’m developing a strategy. Something you should appreciate since your barrel in head first and hope for the best approach has produced less than desirable results.” He didn’t respond but she could feel him sulking through the bond. If this idiot didn’t have magic behind him he wouldn’t even be worth her time. Hiding her thoughts a feelings from him was easy enough since it was obvious he didn’t have much experience with magic in general let alone the one he was using specifically. The fact that he was playing around with things he didn’t understand irked her on many levels even if it made her job easier.

She continued watching the fight until she felt the bond shift. She’d figured out how to tell when he detransformed so she could do things without him watching her. That was the real reason she’d been taking so long. He needed to be just as unaware as the heroes when she enacted her plan.

She had her clone step up the fight, making sure to not create too much damage or use outside weapons. She needed the girl to cast her lucky charm without the catboy using his power. As soon as she threw her yoyo to cast another clone detached from the wall behind her, breaking stealth to grab the object. The looks of shock on the heroes faces would have been funny under other circumstances. She watched them try to adjust and had to admire their tenacity if nothing else.

Her clones worked in perfect harmony, exact duplicates of her and each other. Their outfits were black with dark navy and forest green accents. They were meant to allow movement without being so baggy they got in the way. They were practical, functional. Hawkmoth had hated them. She’d let him choose the eye color just to get him to stop whining and immediately regretted it. Seeing herself with magenta eyes was almost enough for her to tell him to go screw himself. If there had been a reason for it she wouldn’t have cared, but he just seemed to want to do it to spite her.

Finally she saw the female hero break away to leave before she detransformed, leaving the cat to fend off the two clones. Lady Justice followed swiftly and silently as the girl landed on a roof top out of sight of the main battle. As soon as the transformation dropped she stepped out and plunged a syringe into the girls neck. The sedative worked almost instantly and she had to catch her as she fell to the ground.

“What did you do?!” She blinked up at the little red blob glaring at her. Well that hadn’t been in the information Hawkmoth had given her.

“It’s just a tranquilizer, she’ll be fine in a few hours.” She went to reach for the earrings and paused in shock. Of all the people who could have been under that mask she definitely hadn’t been expecting… “Chloe?” From what she remembered the girl had been the most horrendous brat. Conceited, selfish, and expecting everyone to cater to her every whim. She knew people could change but she’d watched Ladybug help others. Watched her comfort victims. The two images wouldn’t combine in her head no matter how she tried.

“Please, Hawkmoth can’t get her Miraculous. I’m begging you just give me your Akumatized object so I can purify it.” The little creature was hovering close to her face and she had to back up to focus on it’s expression.

“And then what?” The creature frowned at her. “Say I do as you ask, what will it accomplish? Hawkmoth will still be out there and this will happen again. You have children fighting a war they aren’t trained for and the longer it goes on the more likely they are to get hurt.” She reached for the earrings again, this time managing to remove them and the creature disappeared. One down one to go.

She called her clones to her and faded back into the shadows. It was far too easy if she was being honest. The boy came barreling after them and as soon as he spotted Chloe he went for her. As he leaned over the girl, Lady Justice reached out with another syringe and in seconds he was lying beside her. She removed his ring and saw a boy the same age. She recognized him as a model from all the ads around Paris and couldn’t help but wonder how these two of all people had been chosen to be heroes. She didn’t let the thought keep her though, there was still far too much to do.

After dropping them both on the roof of the Grand Paris, she made her way back to where the fight originated before trying to contact Hawkmoth. It took him over an hour to respond and she was about ready to lose her patience with him.

“What do you want? I’m busy.” His tone grated on her enough that her sarcasm decided to make an unexpected appearance.

“I just wanted to let you know I have what you want, but if it’s a bad time I’m sure I can find someone else to take them off my hands.” She felt his shock and disbelief so she looked down at her hands were the Miraculous sat. The emotion that came through after that was joy, but twisted in an almost unrecognizable fashion. It made the hair on her arms stand on end.

“Bring them to me.”


	5. Hawkmoth's Downfall

Lady Justice followed Hawkmoth’s pull. It was obvious he still thought he was in control of the situation and that was how she wanted it. There were a couple of issues ahead that she just had to hope worked out properly. Her plan hinged on him either leaving her Akumatized, or not losing her memory if he didn’t. Yes, she had planned extensively just in case she didn’t remember but it was still far better if she didn’t. She’d only have a short window of opportunity and being disoriented could waste it.

She approached the mansion she was being led to cautiously, despite the pull getting more insistent. She knew this house. Yes she remembered walking past it as a child, but she’d been studying Paris for weeks now and knew all the major players in business and politics. Gabriel Agreste was a name that had shown up in both, on the legitimate side as well as the underground. She had to wonder if he had any idea he’d been fighting his own son. Given the current situation she doubted it.

As she approached the side of the house the pull was coming from she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Staring at the butterfly themed window she started to wonder if she should have just done more research to find him. The man was not subtle. As she got closer the window opened just wide enough for her to enter. So not subtle and paranoid. What a wonderful combination. She landed silently on the floor and couldn’t help the irritated frown on her face. The man had his back to her. Paranoid but stupid. He held a hand out to his side.

“Give them to me.” His imperious tone was enough to make her consider using the same sedative on him that she had the heroes. The only thing that stopped her was the need for him to know exactly who it was that defeated him. She wanted him looking her in the eyes when she killed him, just like all the others.

“What about my parents?” The man gave an irritated sigh and turned to look at her. Seeing his suit made her understand both why the Akuma’s were so hideous and why his brand was in decline.

“You’ll get your parents back once I have those Miraculous.” He sounded like he was lecturing a toddler and it took everything in her not to punch him in the face.

“How do I know I can trust you?” He narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance before letting out an irritated huff.

“You don’t, and you shouldn’t.” She felt her powers being drained. This was the moment of truth. Closing her eyes she tried to focus on everything that had happened since she’d been Akumatized instead of the nausea and dizziness that threatened to overwhelm her. It wasn’t easy and she felt disoriented, but once the powers were fully gone she still knew where she was and what she had come here to do. That’s all that really mattered.

She opened her eyes slowly and acted confused while she glanced around the room. It was sparse and didn’t offer much for her to work with, but she had everything she really needed on her. The knives on various parts of her body felt like they were vibrating in anticipation. When she focused on Hawkmoth the man was glaring at her.

“Where are they?” It was that same demanding tone with a hint of ‘how dare you waste my time?’ mixed in. She put on her best confused look.

“Where are what?” He continued to glare at her as she pretended she had no idea what he was talking about. If he wanted them he’d have to search her and the frown on his face said he wasn’t looking forward to that kind of effort. A sound of irritation left his throat before a bright light took over his body. When she looked up again she was staring at a very pissed of fashion mogul and a very panicked floating creature like the red one that had appeared when Chloe detransformed.

“Where are they Nooroo?” The little purple creature looked close to tears and was wringing its hands, or paws, together in agitation.

“In her left jacket pocket Master.” The words came out choked and servile and Marinette suddenly had one more reason to finish this job. No one should sound like that, ever. As Gabriel came closer, greed and anticipation fighting for dominance on his face, she just watched him. All his mistakes were piling up in this one moment to come crashing down on his head. She wondered vaguely if anyone had considered calling her Karma instead of The Angel of Death.

She locked eyes with the floating creature and whatever it saw there caused warring emotions of relief and panic. She could see it’s internal struggle plainly on its face as Gabriel reached for her pocket. It fell into an apologetic grimace as it opened its mouth.

“Master! She’s not what she seems.” She saw the man roll his eyes as he continued to reach for her and she almost did the same. Such arrogance. Before the creature could do more than try to warn the designer, Marinette slipped the knife out of her right sleeve down into her hand and then up into his chest. It was almost without thought the way she slid it between the ribs, directly into his heart.

The look of shock on his face was one she’d seen many times before. She couldn’t remember how many times Talia had told her that her greatest asset was being small and looking innocent. No one saw her coming. Her eyes darted to the floating creature who didn’t seem to know how to react. Well, no human at least.

“I suppose you deserve to know exactly who is responsible for taking your life, though that’s all you deserve.” She twisted the knife and could tell he was losing the ability to focus. “The Angel of Death has come to your door.” She saw recognition flash right before he collapsed on the floor. She stared at him and felt… nothing as always. She was fairly certain she was supposed to feel something.


	6. Nooroo's Decision

Marinette continued to watch as both the life and blood drained from the man in front of her. Part of her reasoning came from her training. It was her job to make sure he was dead in order to complete her mission. Another part of her was fascinated by the process. Talia had always considered it a weakness. One more reason she wasn’t worthy of the woman’s offspring. But ever since Marinette had felt the connection with her parents severed she couldn’t help but wonder at exactly what point in the process it happened. When the heart stopped? When the brain ceased to function? If there was a soul, did it happen when the soul left the body? She almost wished she could have been there when Damian died so she had a clearer understanding of the issue. Almost. Feeling his string snap, even with how faded it had become, had taken her out of commission for a week. She didn’t want to imagine how bad it would have been if she were closer to him,

She was brought out of her thoughts as the broach at Gabriel’s collar changed shape. The Miraculous must have realized he was dead. She wondered vaguely if he’d had any strings that had been severed. She reached down to retrieve the item and heard the creature behind her inhale sharply. After putting it in her pocket with the others she calmly cleaned her blade on the man’s shirt before turning around to face the creature. It looked resigned.

“What is your will Master?” She felt her face contort in revulsion at the title and saw fear on the creature’s face.

“I’m not your master. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to leave things lying around so they fall into the wrong hands.” She pulled out her phone to send the video from her body cam to the Mayor as proof the job was done. She received the second half of her payment almost immediately. Watching her work had a tendency to motivate her employers to keep her happy.

“And you do not consider your hands the wrong ones?” She cocked her head in thought. It was a valid question.

“My hands are more careful than most, but wrong or right I couldn’t say.” She started to head to the window to make her escape. There was no telling how fast the police would show up.

“Wait! There is another.” She turned to look at the creature and noted the shock, as though it hadn’t meant to speak. Did he have to give her certain information just because she had the broach? She watched as it began to vibrate nervously. “There is one more Miraculous and a book that should also not be left so anyone can find them. I can show you.” Maybe it just decided she was the lesser of two evils. Talia would be livid at the thought and that brought a real smile to Marinette’s face.

“Show me then. What should I call you?” The creature blinked at her in surprise, though she wasn’t certain why.

“I am Nooroo, Kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous. What do you wish me to call you if not Master?” She paused to think about the question. She’d been called many things in the League, none of which had good memories attached. At the same time it had been so long since she’d been Marinette, so long since she’d become a different person, it felt wrong to use the name as she was now. It almost felt like she was dishonoring her parents.

“Tristesse, or Tris.” She wasn’t sure where the thought came from, but it certainly fit. It was all she felt, and all she brought to the world around her. Nooroo offered her a pitying look before nodding and heading to a hidden door. She followed, knowing that time would be against her if they lingered. They surfaced in what appeared to be a study and Nooroo guided her to a large painting covering a safe. She frowned at it.

“It’ll take too long to open this. For all I know the Mayor called the police already.” Before she could try to come up with alternatives Nooroo flew through the door of the safe and she blinked as it opened to reveal the Kwami inside. “That’s certainly a handy trick.”

“This book, and this.” He pointed to another broach but flew in front of her hand when she reached for it. “Let me find something to put it in. Duusu’s Miraculous is damaged and can cause great harm to those who wield it.” She simply gave a nod and reached for the book instead. It was old, that much she could tell but none of the writing in it made sense to her. She kept staring at it though, something inside her saying it was familiar. Nooroo came back with a bag in short order and in less than five minutes she was on the rooftops making her way back to her hotel. Nooroo sat on her shoulder as she went, completely silent. Once in her room she laid out the four Miraculous and the book on a table and contemplated.

“What are you going to do with them?” Nooroo’s quiet voice broke her out of her thoughts and she sighed.

“Your former Master claimed these two could bring back the dead.” She pointed to the ring and earrings and could practically feel the unease dripping off the Kwami.

“That would be unwise. While it is true that combined the Miraculous of Creation and Destruction can grant the wearer any wish, it comes at a great cost. My Master never understood that. Rather he chose to ignore my warnings.” That was less than optimal.

“What kind of cost?” Perhaps there was a loophole. Even in her head she sounded desperate.

“Tikki would be better to ask. I’ve never been active when a wish was made.” The Kwami sounded relieved by that though she had no idea why.

“Who’s Tikki?” She saw Nooroo point at the earrings in her peripheral vision.

“The Kwami of Creation who resides in the Ladybug Miraculous. They will be better able to explain such things.” She couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Of course it would be the one she’d already talked to. Fate or luck seemed to always be against her.

“And how exactly do I speak to them?”


	7. Kwami and Consequences

“You can summon Tikki if you put the earrings on.” Marinette frowned in thought. The creature already didn’t like her and given that she did have both the ring and earrings it might consider her using them as proof of her intentions. She wanted answers, real ones, not a combative Kwami trying to figure out an escape plan.

“Is there anyway to ask them to come out without doing that?” Nooroo blinked at her, obviously shocked at the courtesy. A bright smile appeared on their face a moment later.

“Yes! Of course I can do that. Do you want to just talk to Tikki or should I get Plagg too?” She cocked her head at him in contemplation. Were all Kwami this eager to please? Would Nooroo be if they didn’t seem to think she was their master?

“Plagg is the one in the ring?” Nooroo nodded. Basic interrogation tactics said to question them separately and see if their stories and answers matched. But this wasn’t an interrogation and she didn’t have a protocol for simply talking. Dealing with clients yes. Dealing with people trying to kill her yes. Talking absolutely not. “Ask them both?” Nooroo gave her another bright smile before seeming to dive into his broach.

With no idea how long it would take she grabbed a granola bar, a bottle of water, and her laptop out of her bags and settled on the bed to wait. That at least she knew how to do. She started scanning her email to see what contract she should accept next and was researching the different targets when a flash of light interrupted her. Nooroo was back, looking proud of himself, along with the red and black Kwami who both looked extremely annoyed.

“Use us or don’t Hawkmoth but I will not be forced to listen to whatever speach you have to make us understand your intentions.” The red Kwami finally looked up and froze with their mouth open. Obviously they’d had more to say but seeing her stunned it into silence.

“You’re not Hawkmoth.” The black Kwami made it sound like a question so she shook her head. Both of them turned to look at the items on the table and then each other. She wondered if they could communicate telepathically. “What do you want?” Blunt and to the point. She liked this one.

“Plagg! Be nice.” The red one, Tikki she reminded herself, scolded the other but they scoffed.

“We have no idea who she is or what she wants and I’m not even nice to humans I do like.” She really liked this one. Nooroo cleared their throat.

“She has questions about the wish.” Both the other’s glared at him for a moment.

“Nooroo, why would you tell her about that?” Tikki sounded exasperated and Nooroo flinched back.

“It’s not their fault.” All three turned their attention to her. She cleared her throat nervously, not sure how to proceed. “Hawkmoth claimed he could bring my parents back to life when he Akumatized me and I was asking Nooroo about it.” Tikki gasped and when she looked to the Kwami they seemed almost scared.

“You’re the one who defeated my holder.” She just nodded, not sure what response the creature was expecting. “And you must have defeated Plagg’s holder as well.” Another nod. “I’m sure Hawkmoth commanded you to deliver our Miraculous to him so how did you end up with all this?” The Kwami pointed to the objects on the table and she hesitated. Would telling them she was an assassin paid to kill Hawkmoth make the situation better or worse? Worse, definitely worse. Would lying to the creatures make the situation better or worse? Probably worse.

“I killed him.” Plagg and Tikki both looked too shocked to respond. The look they were giving her was similar to one Talia always had when she’d screwed up badly. She had the same reaction as always, she started babbling. “I didn’t know about you when I took the contract. I’ve never seen this type of magic before and I just thought it was a meta or normal magical artifacts until I saw you. I didn’t kill him for your powers.”

“Wait, back up. What contract?” Tikki still looked horrified but Plagg looked thoughtful and she addressed their question.

“The mayor hired me to kill Hawkmoth. I can show you the emails if you want.” Now they were all staring at her with varying levels of wariness, concern, and pity. She didn’t like being looked at like that, it woke her pride with a vengeance. “It’s what I do and I’m the best at it so it’s no surprise that he contacted me to handle things. He certainly chose better than whoever gave you to untrained and untried children.” She expected her words to bring fear or at least disgust, but they all just looked even more concerned.

“Oh you poor thing.” Tikki’s words were followed by all three Kwami coming at her before she could react. Plagg was on top of her head, and was he purring? The other two were on either side of her neck, cuddling into her. What the hell?

“How is this an appropriate response to finding out I’m an assassin?” The words just came out in her confusion and she swore she felt Plagg laugh. Tikki floated in front of her face, giving her a stern look.

“Because child assassins don’t choose their line of work and the fact that you’re so concerned for others being forced into a life of fighting tells me that, no matter how good you are at it, it isn’t what you want in life.” She felt tears at the back of her eyes and looked away from the Kwami as she forced them back. She wouldn’t cry and she wouldn’t dwell on things that couldn’t be changed.

“Will you answer my questions now?” She heard Tikki sigh before the Kwami settled on top of her computer. The other’s stayed where they were.

“What do you want to know?” The creature sounded wary and she knew that no matter what the Kwami would try to persuade her not to make a wish. That didn’t bode well given what Nooroo had told her.

“Nooroo said there would be consequences if you wished for someone to be alive. What kind of consequences?” Tikki’s expression was guarded and the Kwami was studying her before letting out a little huff.

“The Miraculous, specifically the Ladybug and Black Cat, are about balance. Any action must be balanced out. In the case of using our Miraculous to make a wish that balance is triggered suddenly and the repercussions are usually devastating and long lasting. The last time a wish was made the Inquisition was started.” Well that was worse than she’d expected.

“What was the wish?” Plagg’s purring stopped abruptly and she could see tears in Tikki’s eyes. The poor thing looked devastated and before she could think the action through, she picked up the Kwami and hugged them close. Plagg ended up answering.

“The woman was Tikki’s holder and despite being bound to the Kwami of Creation she was plagued by miscarriages. The mental toll it took on her was terrible and in desperation and rage she wished all her children alive and well. Creating six lives ended up costing hundreds of thousands of deaths. The balance had to be maintained not just to the number of lives but the potential good and bad each of them could create. It’s not just about one life, but how that life affects others and the world as a whole.”

Marinette sat in silence, thinking, while Tikki cried. Plagg has said potential good and bad not actual actions. It made her think that it didn’t matter what the person actually did in life but rather what they could have done depending on all their choices, actions, and situations. She was almost certain she knew the answer to her next question, but she could help but hope she was wrong.

“What about wishing someone had never been born? Would it have the same effect?” All three Kwami’s seemed to stop breathing. Great.

“Worse.” Tikki’s voice was quiet and solemn. She just sighed. Why could nothing be easy? Just once in her life she wanted something to go right.

“Who do you hate so much that you’d wish they never existed at all?” Plagg’s question caused her to frown in thought. Hate? She didn’t think about it that way but perhaps he was right to say so. After all didn’t you have to hate someone, at least a little, to believe the world would be better off without them?

“Myself.”


	8. In Which Everyone's Confused

All of the Kwami went completely still at her answer, though she didn’t know why. For her it simply made sense. Taking out any of the other people or situations could easily result in the universe finding a different way to find the same end. Her parents were dead only because she was their daughter. But she couldn’t risk hurting innocent people on the off chance her not even being conceived would stop her parents untimely death. Given her luck they’d just die in a car crash anyway.

“Oh Kit.” Plagg started purring even louder than before on top of her head while the other two just snuggled into her again. It was strange, and she wasn’t sure how to react. “Tell me who your handler is and I’ll make sure you never have to do anything like this again.” She frowned in confusion for a moment before she realized they thought she was being forced to kill by an outside entity.

“I don’t have a handler, I’m a free agent.” All three Kwami were suddenly floating in front of her face, looking confused.

“Why do you do it then? There are so many other things you could do. Don’t you have relatives somewhere that could take you in?” Marinette looked away and thought about it. She knew her Nonna was alive, it was the only string she had left, but she didn’t want to be a burden. She was also scared that she wouldn’t want her. How would she even be able to look at Marinette knowing that her only son was dead because of her? Even the thought of that rejection hurt more than anything she’d experienced since her parents died.

“I can’t do anything else. I was trained as an assassin and it’s the only thing I know, the only thing I’m good at. I can’t be trusted around regular people.” The looks of pity they sent her annoyed her a bit. She was dangerous. They should be taking this more seriously.

“What makes you think you can’t be trusted around people?” Tikki asked the question and Marinette could tell they were actually curious about the answer. She had to think for a moment to really put it into words.

“I see weak spots. In structures, systems, even people. I know exactly where to strike to cause the most damage with the least effort. In a building I can tell you exactly which supports are crucial to its structural integrity and the exact amount of power needed to bring them down. With people I can tell you both their physical infirmities and their emotional ones with very little observation. I know what to say and do to cause the most harm possible. And that’s all I know is how to cause harm.”

“That’s not true.” Nooroo decided to enter the conversation and all the Kwami looked a little surprised by it. “You didn’t harm Tikki and Plagg’s holders even though you had every chance to. You haven’t harmed us or used us to harm others. Even as an Akuma you didn’t do any damage that wasn’t strictly necessary to meet your goal. Just because you can see a weakness doesn’t mean you have to take advantage of it.” The others were nodding but Marinette didn’t see how that was any better.

“With very little effort you could turn that ability into helping people.” She couldn’t help the skeptical frown at Tikki’s words. “Instead of using a person’s weakness against them you could help build them up. You could turn it into a career in medicine or architecture. There are so many possibilities.” The Kwami sounded so encouraging and excited but Marinette thought it all sounded naive.

“Yeah, I’m sure you know different languages too. You could be a translator. Or a demolition expert! That would be fun.” Plagg’s enthusiasm for the last one caused Tikki to roll their eyes but it sounded interesting to her.

“But the people I’m hired to kill need to be killed. Who’s going to do that if I stop?” Tikki and Nooroo both looked horrified by her words but Plagg looked thoughtful.

“What do you mean they need to be killed?”

“I only take contracts on people who hurt a lot of other people and show no signs of stopping. Dictators who were committing genocide, a couple doctors who were experimenting on people, slumlords, even a cartel leader once. I don’t kill for money, I have more than enough of that already, I do it because I’m good at it and it needs to be done.” They were all just staring at her again. She didn’t know what to make of it.

“So you kill to help people.” Tikki sounded like they were trying the words out more than asking a question.

“I suppose that’s the end result, yes.” She looked more at the past acts and potential for future violence in a more abstract way. She tried very hard not to think about individual people if she was being honest.

“Would you be willing to help us?” Marinette blinked at the creature in confusion.

“You want me to kill someone?” Tikki looked absolutely horrified which just served to confuse her more. Plagg started cackling like a madman.

“No we don’t want you to kill anyone.” Tikki was glaring at Plagg which just seemed to set off more hysterics. Nooroo looked like he found the entire thing amusing as well but was either to dignified or too afraid of Tikki to actually laugh.

“What do you want my help with then?” Tikki pointed at the table.

“You can help us fix Duusu’s Miraculous.” The Kwami flew up closer to her face and appeared to be studying her. “You are a unique blend of creation and destruction, though the creation has been repressed. You will be a good conduit to direct our powers.” Conduit? That didn’t sound appealing.

“You have a high level of empathy as well, despite your past, and that will help greatly since it will soothe Duusu so they don’t fight against the healing.” Nooroo’s words caused both Plagg and Tikki to hum in agreement.

“Is it dangerous?” She wasn’t even certain why she asked. It’s not like her life mattered that much anyway.

“Not for you. Normally we would need at least two people to attempt something like this, one a creation soul and one destruction. That can cause problems because in drawing power from two sources it’s hard to keep an even flow. But since you are both Plagg and I can draw from the same channel and it will prevent any backlash. You’ll probably be tired after, and hungry, but there won’t be any lasting damage.” Marinette still wasn’t sure she had any idea what the Kwami was talking about but she nodded anyway.

“Okay, what do you need me to do?”


	9. Fixing Duusu

Marinette was seated cross legged on the bed with the Peafowl Miraculous in front of her. Her hands were turned up on her knees and Plagg and Tikki sat in either palm. Everything was still a bit too vague for her piece of mind but given their interactions she didn’t think the Kwami wanted to hurt her. She wasn’t certain they could while she was in possession of their Miraculous. Tikki flew up to address her.

“You’ve meditated before I assume?” Marinette just nodded. “Good. What we need you to do is just close your eyes and breath deeply, being relaxed as possible. You’ll likely feel a pull or tugging sensation and may start feeling drained. It’s perfectly normal but if you start fighting it it will get worse.”

“Should I be visualizing or concentrating on anything specific?” She was used to things being out of her control, Talia and the League had made sure of that, so it shouldn’t be difficult to do as Tikki asked.

“It’s probably best if you focus here.” Tikki flew forward and gently tapped the center of her forehead. “It will help us draw the energy we need though it is not necessary. It may also help ease any discomfort that comes up.” Marinette frowned at the Kwami’s tone.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.” Tikki shared a look with Plagg and she knew she was right. Plagg let out a huff and joined the other Kwami hovering in front of her.

“It’s not dangerous kit, I promise, but especially given that Duusu is the Kwami of emotion there may be some pushback. Given the little we know of your past it could open old emotional wounds that you would prefer to stay buried.” They both looked genuinely worried. For her part, Marinette just figured she’d survived it once, she could do it again.

“I’m sure it will be fine.” The Kwami shared a look she couldn’t interpret but she just closed her eyes and began to relegate her breathing. Once it was at a proper pace she did as Tikki had asked and concentrated on the spot they had touched. She swore she could still feel it but put it down to her imagination. She felt the Kwami move back to their positions in her hands but she kept focused on that spot and her breathing.

She didn’t notice any changes at first, but soon found herself becoming too warm. She could tell it wasn’t the room but rather heat coming from her own body. It was a mild discomfort though so she pushed it out of her mind and resumed her focus. That’s when she realized she could actually feel the energy being pulled from her, or rather through her. Yes some of her own energy was mixed it but it felt more like she was a funnel and Tikki and Plagg were directing the energy pouring through her. It was strange certainly but not uncomfortable

The longer it lasted, the more aware she became. Instead of just feeling the energy as it rushed through her she could also feel the way Tikki and Plagg were separating it and directing it into the Miraculous on the bed. She also began to see the different threads of energy flowing through her and unconsciously began separating them herself and feeding them to the Kwami. It was actually really soothing, and it seemed to speed up the process. She was so distracted by it she didn’t notice the sudden burst of energy flowing back from the Miraculous until it was too late.

When it hit her she heard herself yelp and her hands flew to her head as images and the emotions that went with them swirled through her mind. There was no pattern to how or when they showed up. One second she felt the agony of Damian’s string snapping, the next was the fear of her younger self as she was being transported away from Paris. So many conflicting thoughts and emotions she couldn’t do anything but whimper as they tore through her. She tried to force them to come one at a time at least, but when she did manage it she wished she hadn’t.

It was the day after they’d returned to the Leagues base. Talia insisted that she spar with Damian with no training to prove her worth. It was like she was actually reliving it. She knew what would happen but had no control over her own body. Damian seemed less than thrilled with the idea but it was obvious he wouldn’t go against his mother. After he threw her to the ground the first time his mother waited for Marinette to get back up before saying ‘Again’. Damian looked like he wanted to argue but didn’t. It went on like that for what felt like hours. Damian would hit or throw her and Talia would say again every time she got back up. Her entire body felt like it was covered in bruises and scrapes. At one point Damian even told her to just stay down, but some part of her knew that wasn’t an option. It only ended when Damian finally knocked her out.

Marinette came back to the present slowly as the pounding in her head began to lessen. Suddenly, Plagg’s warning about the pushback made a lot more sense. She felt drained, like she hadn’t slept in days and her entire body was tense. She slowly forced each of her muscles to relax before trying to open her eyes. When she did she found four anxious Kwami staring at her.

“Tris, are you okay?” Nooroo’s voice was about an octave higher than before so she had a feeling that none of them were expecting the backlash to be this bad.

“I’m so sorry!” Marinette tried to focus on the blueish blur in front of her. “I couldn’t stop it, the energy was flowing too fast.” She just nodded. So it had been her fault then. If she hadn’t been feeding it out to the other Kwami the way she did things wouldn’t have been so bad.

“My fault. Shouldn’t have helped without asking.” Or knowing what she was even doing. The more she came to her senses the more she felt something different. She could still feel the energy all around them. It was incredibly easy to pick out different strands even though she couldn’t tell what they all were. That was interesting.

“What do you mean helped?” Tikki’s voice was confused more than anything.

“I separated the energy before it got to the two of you.” The Kwami shared a look and she realized they hadn’t noticed.

“I just thought it was easier because we were getting used to it. You could actually feel the different types of energy?” Plagg’s question caused all of them to stare at her. That couldn’t be good.

“I still can. It’s everywhere. Is it supposed to be?” None of them answered and that worried her. These were tiny gods who had been around for millennia and they were looking at her like they’d discovered a new species. Finally Tikki broke out of her stupor.

“Yes, it’s normal for it to be everywhere but we’ve never encountered a human that became aware of it without training, let alone what you’re describing.” Just what she needed, one more thing to make her abnormal.


	10. Kwami Intervention

“Master?” Marinette flinched as Tikki addressed her. Nooroo gave her a sympathetic look.

“She asked to be called Tristesse or Tris, not Master.” Tikki’s expression softened and Marinette felt all four Kwami cuddle into her. Her head was pounding and all the swirling colors from the energy around her were making her nauseous so she squeezed her eyes shut.

“I’m sorry, I would have warned you if I had any idea this would happen. There’s someone who might be able to help, and I think you could help them as well. If you’ll let me, I can go see them and ask them to meet with you.” Marinette shook her head automatically. She couldn’t allow that.

“No one can know about me, certainly not someone I know nothing about. It’s too dangerous, for me and for them.” She still wasn’t sure if Talia or anyone from the League were actively looking for her. It was one more reason she only dealt with people over email. Not to mention that finding out a child was The Angel of Death would severely impact her business.

“I can’t tell them anything that will give away your identity, especially if you tell me not to, but I think you should allow me to arrange a meeting. You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t want to but you need a real purpose in life and they need someone to train. I really do think it’s the best option given your abilities.” She knew the Kwami wasn’t talking about her prowess as an assassin. It would be nice to figure out what this new development meant, but she didn’t have good experience with ‘mentors’.

“I take it this person is the one you all belong with?” Silence answered her question and she had a feeling that it was something they weren’t allowed to talk about. “I won’t promise to meet with them, but you can go. At the very least we can arrange a way for me to leave your Miraculous where they can find them.” More silence, then Plagg spoke.

“You’re stuck with us for now kit. We all feel a strong connection with you and you’ve already proven yourself to us. Not to mention you’re far more interesting than the humans we normally deal with.” A short burst of laughter escaped before she could stop it. Interesting was not the word she would choose.

“Given Nooroo’s safe cracking skills you would certainly be useful to have around but I highly doubt you would condone most of my actions.” Plagg scoffed at her.

“I’m the Kwami of destruction and chaos kit, I highly doubt you could do anything that would revolt me and you’ve got a strong sense of justice backing it so even Tikki can’t argue with your results from what I can tell.” The Kwami in question gave a non committal hum.

“We aren’t non violent entities Tris. We uphold the balance and that can take many forms. I think you try to create balance in your own way even if you don’t realize it. It’s not the way our holders usually act but that’s because most of them were trained a different way. Do you mind if I suggest a meeting? Even if you end up deciding against it I think you should have the option to not be alone anymore.”

Tikki’s words caused her to push down her immediate denial. It had been so long since she’d had any real human connection. Even surrounded as she was by people in the League there was no one who’d made her feel less lonely. The rare occasions Damian had been allowed to interact with her had been cold. She still didn’t know if it had been because they were being watched but it hurt more knowing that this was the person who was supposed to be her match. What kind of sick joke was that? She felt like the universe was laughing at her.

“They won’t want to be around me anyway, not if they know what I’ve done, what I am.” Because at the end of the day, she was only one thing and that was a killer. One with no remorse for their actions. No one would willingly be subjected to that unless they were the same.

“You are more than your past Tris, and you don’t have to let that define you.” She felt Tikki float up and brush her temple and she let out a sigh of relief as the pain lessened. “I’ll be back soon.” She could actually feel Tikki getting further away and tried not to think about which direction the Kwami was going in to allow them some privacy. As the other three Kwami cuddled into her and Plagg started purring she found herself drifting off to sleep.

————————————————————–

“Master!” Tikki heard Wayzz alert the Guardian as she entered the shop and saw the relief in Fu’s face when he spotted them. The man wouldn’t have all the details but he obviously knew they’d been taken from their holders. Tris’ words about sending untrained children to fight a war replayed in their head and they had to wonder what the Guardian had been thinking. It was true that training had started young in the temple but those children weren’t ever sent out into the world before they were ready.

“Tikki, what happened?” Tikki simply stared at the man as they debated what to tell him. There was much they couldn’t divulge because Tris held the Miraculous, but Tikki wasn’t certain what information he needed of what she could share.

“Hawkmoth Akumatized the wrong person.” A ridiculous understatement even if it was true. “That person killed him and now has the four Miraculous as well as a book from the temple. I asked to come see you to try and arrange a meeting.” Fu’s frown deeped the longer Tikki talked and the Kwami knew they were in for a long night of negotiating.


	11. The Meeting

Marinette had been staking out the warehouse for going on six hours when an old man seemingly dressed like a turtle showed up. She could feel the magic coming off him and knew he was the one the Kwami wanted her to meet. She already felt that this was a mistake. The man was brash and foolish to just walk into a meeting with an unknown entity without even bothering with a cursory sweep of the area. Marinette had no time and no use for fools.

“It is not polite to hide and stare at people, especially without introducing yourself.” He was staring directly at the place where she’d hidden the Miraculous while she was at his back. The man not only relied on magic, he assumed anyone else would if they had the chance. An easy mark if she were so inclined. The fact that this man was the caretaker of a power that could completely remake or even destroy the world was frightening if she was being honest.

“Politeness is overrated and I don’t see what introducing myself would accomplish.” The man spun around at her voice but she was already moving to a different location so he wouldn’t be able to pin her down. She watched as he squinted into the shadows where he heard her voice. The man really was hopeless.

“A name can tell you a lot about a person.” Marinette didn’t even try to stop the derisive snort that left her.

“At most a name tells you what someone’s parents hoped they’d be, though it’s more likely that they simply thought it sounded good with their last name. It says nothing about who or what a person is independent of that.” She moved again but not nearly as far as before. She watched him for any sign that he was tracking her movements but didn’t find any. Either the man was still alive by pure chance or he was very good at pretending to be oblivious. The first was a strong possibility if he relied on tiny gods to protect him but she knew better than to underestimate a potential threat.

“A valid point, but that still doesn’t tell me what I should call you.” She debated what to tell him. The Kwami seemed to think they could help each other but she knew better than most that having people close to you was nothing more than a weakness to be exploited. Not to mention the fact that if the League was hunting her or even just happened to stumble upon her while she was with him the Miraculous would be in danger as well. Better that he know exactly what he’s dealing with and leave.

“I’ve been called many things in my life. I’m currently referred to most often as The Angel of Death.” That got his attention. She watched as he stiffened and suddenly was surrounded by a magic shield. She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “If I wanted you dead you would be already. If you’ve heard of me you know I don’t kill indiscriminately and I highly doubt you’ve done anything that would land you on my hit list anyway.” She watched the man frown in thought.

“You were hired to kill Hawkmoth.” It was a statement and she didn’t bother to confirm it. “You let yourself get Akumatized to find him didn’t you?”

“I did.” She simply waited while he mulled over that information. Tikki hadn’t been very forthcoming about their conversation, she had a feeling it was more to do with not being able to than being unwilling, so she wasn’t certain what the man actually knew. She was interested to see what conclusions he would come up with. She shook her head when he dropped his shield before answering. The man was far too easy a target.

“It was a foolish thing to do. You’re lucky he didn’t see what your intentions were.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. The man was incompetent and far too focused on his own desires to find information in a trained mind. He didn’t even notice I was still in control of myself let alone what I was planning to do.” That seemed to surprise him and it made her think he didn’t know as much about the Miraculous as he should, let alone other forms of magic.

“You remember everything that happened while you were Akumatized?” He sounded skeptical and worried. She didn’t answer right away. The Kwami had the same reaction when she told them, even Nooroo. The question was whether she wanted him to know what she was capable of so he didn’t come after her himself.

“Yes, I was in control of myself the entire time. Hawkmoth didn’t force me to do anything and I doubt he could have if he tried.” If she’d learned anything through their connection it was that Gabriel didn’t have the empathy to truly use the connections Nooroo formed for him. He forced his will on others and that only worked until he possessed someone with a stronger will than his.

“Why did you ask for this meeting?” He sounded wary but Marinette paused in confusion. What exactly had Tikki said to him?

“I didn’t. Tikki said they thought we could help each other and convinced me to meet with you. To be honest I don’t see what you could possibly teach me that will improve my skills and my being near you is likely to put you in danger. The Kwami seem set on remaining with me and given your apparent lack of strategy and overall skill I can understand why.” She expected him to be insulted but he just looked mildly annoyed. She moved behind him once again knowing she’d have to prove her point.

“The Miraculous are not going to be entrusted to someone like you. Either return them or face the consequences.” She couldn’t help the eye roll as she scanned him for the Miraculous he was wearing. It had to be the bracelet, nothing else was out of place. She attacked swiftly, stepping out of the shadows behind him and grabbing the bracelet. She tore it off in one smooth motion and was now face to face with an old man, amazingly even shorter than herself. She watched his face change from anger to panic to confusion as he finally took in who, or rather what, he was looking at.

“You’re just a child.”


	12. Attempting to Understand

“Says the man who gave magical artifacts to children with no warning and no training.” He raised an eyebrow at her in annoyance but she just waited. She was curious about his thought process in reaching that decision if nothing else.

“I gave them to children because they are less likely to commit evil acts or let the power consume them. People are taught to take the easy way out whenever possible anymore and I worried that giving them to adults was just as likely to cause more harm. As to no training, their Kwami explained things and everything else is a matter of doing. When they’re transformed Tikki and Plagg can direct their users’ subconscious which is far more constructive than regular training.” She could only frown at the man in front of her. His logic was skewed at best and it gave her one more reason to fear that he was the only thing between the Miraculous and anyone who wanted to abuse them.

“So rather than giving them to adults, with set morals and personalities that you could have actually looked into, you decided to give them to volatile teenagers who are still developing and could easily turn into what you most fear.” He just blinked at her and she could only sigh and shake her head. “At least I understand why the Kwami think I can help you. I still don’t understand how you could benefit me though.” She watched as he sputtered indignantly.

“I could teach you that killing isn’t the answer to every problem for starters.” She frowned at him trying and failing to follow his reasoning. Eventually she just cocked her head at him in confusion.

“If that was my thought process you would be dead.” He seemed to be ready to argue the point, but glanced at the Miraculous she had taken from him instead. After that he just began to study her. She just waited, not sure what he was looking for.

“Have you told your handler about the Miraculous and what they’re capable of?” She blew out a frustrated breath.

“I don’t have a handler.” She said the words slowly and deliberately hoping this would be the last time she was asked. “I take care of myself. I choose and plan my jobs. I answer only to myself.” He still looked confused and she was tempted to just grab the Miraculous and go but she’d promised Tikki she’d give this man a chance. She wouldn’t go back on her word no matter how dense he seemed to be.

“So you can just stop whenever you want to?” She blinked at him and cocked her head in thought. Technically she could but it would create a host of other problems. The worst actually wasn’t her own death either.

“That’s a rather simplistic way of looking at it, but not incorrect. However I have no plans of giving up my current occupation.” They just stared at each other. He seemed rather stunned if she were being honest, so she just waited for his next question.

“Why would you continue killing people when you don’t have to?” She could tell from his voice that there was far more to that question than the obvious. She would have to try and word her answer carefully.

“Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. I could stop taking contracts but that would leave people out there that are far worse a threat to the world than I am. Not to mention the possibility that if I go inactive someone may take up the moniker and suddenly the Angel of Death will have a host of people who expect one thing from them and they deliver another. There are enough people in the world who only prey on others for their own personal gain, I will not let the reputation I’ve built be used by one of them. Then there is of course the possibility that if I go inactive certain parties will see it as a sign of weakness and come after me to prove they’re better than me, but that is not nearly as big of an issue.”

The man was looking at her like she was a new species that he needed to study. This was why she hated being around other people. She made a perfectly reasonable statement and he was probably debating whether she belonged in a prison or a mental institution.

“Exactly how is other assassins coming after you not a big issue?” That wasn’t what she expected him to latch onto but she just shrugged.

“None of them know who I am so even if they manage to track my movements or hack my devices they won’t be prepared for me. No one expects me to be this.” She gestured to her body and put on an air of innocents that she found creepy but others believed in a heartbeat. The man frowned at her. “Between the element of surprise and my skill set it’s unlikely I’ll lose in such an altercation. If I do, I guess I won’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

“And you’re fine with that? The thought of dying doesn’t scare you?” The question was soft and his look held pity, though she didn’t understand why. She considered the question in confusion.

“My life has been forfeit since I was seven. It’s been under constant threat from both those that trained me and their enemies.” Talia had nightly sessions with her from the moment they took her to threaten her and tell her she wasn’t good enough for her precious son. She’d lived in constant fear for close to six months before she became numb to it. “I’ve been living on borrowed time for almost half my life at this point. Death is simply an expected occurrence that hasn’t happened yet.” His expression softened further into something she couldn’t name.

“I believe Tikki is right. We have much to teach each other.”


	13. Settling In

Every action the man took made Marinette question both his sanity and apparent luck. First he gave her his real name, at least the one he went by currently, so she’d be able to find out anything about him connected to that. Then he brought her to his home. He showed a trained assassin where he sleeps for crying out loud! And just when she thought it couldn’t get worse, he actually showed her when the rest of the Miraculous were.

“Have you completely taken leave of your senses?” He had the audacity to grin at her. “For all you know I could have sent Tikki to arrange that meeting in order to get information about where the rest of the jewelry was and now you’re just handing them to me on a silver platter! How are you even still alive?” This was beyond frustrating. How was she supposed to learn anything from someone who was nothing but an easy target?

“You told me that Tikki wanted the meeting, not you.” He was giving her a calm smile and his tone was completely unconcerned.

“People lie.” She knew her tone was flat but she couldn’t help it.

“Yes, but you don’t.” He said it with certainty and she opened her mouth to argue before she realized he was right. She was many things, a killer, a hacker, a thief when necessary, but she rarely interacted with people and she never lied. Not even about who she was technically. Everyone chose to believe certain things and she didn’t correct them, but she couldn’t ever remember actually lying.

“How do you know that?” He wasn’t guessing, she was certain of it. The real question was whether it was an inborn trait of perception, or something granted from use of the Miraculous. She’d have to ask the Kwami because she had a feeling he wasn’t going to give her a straight answer.

“It’s in the way you move and speak. Everything about you practically screams it. Well, that and pain.” Yeah, she definitely wasn’t getting a real answer. She let out a tired sigh. “I think it’s past time for bed after all the excitement. Come, I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

“I can just go back to the hotel.” The look he shot her made her think he knew she’d already checked out, even though that wasn’t possible.

“No need. You’ll have to get comfortable here if you wish to train with me and I assure you my spare room is far more comfortable than any hotel bed.” She frowned at the reminder and once again debated what exactly she was doing here. Yes, the Miraculous were far too dangerous to be left unguarded but for all his apparent ineptness, only two had managed to escape Wang Fu’s grasp. There had to be more to him than she could see. And if that was the case then perhaps it would be useful to stay.

“Just as long as you understand that I’ll have to be away for lengths of time for my business. I’m sure you don’t want the unwanted attention that could come if I were to give it up.” She wasn’t sure why she was being so cryptic other than habit. He knew what she was so it was technically a safe conversation unless his house was bugged. She’d have to check for that in the morning. She watched him wrinkle his nose in distaste.

“I will not stop you, though I hope in time to convince you that it isn’t necessary. For now I understand, to a point, why you must continue.” Great, that just meant that this was going to be a recurring argument as long as she stayed. Perhaps it would be best to rent out her own space so she’d have somewhere to retreat to if he refused to see reason.

The room he showed her to was small, bordering on cramped, but it had a cozy feel to it she wasn’t used to. She generally had to stay in less than hospitable environments where people would overlook her age for money. It had a window so there was at least an escape route other than going through the main part of the building. Overall it wasn’t too bad of a set up.

“There’s a closet there, though you don’t seem to have much to put in it.” He eyed her one bag dubiously but she ignored it. She traveled light and bought what she needed for missions on sight. There were a lot of reasons for that. No steady suppliers meant she was harder to trace. There were very few things she considered a necessity other than weapons and those she had on her person at all times. Other than that all she really had were a set of normal clothes and her laptop. Everything else was unnecessary and slowed her down or was a distraction. Either of those things could get her killed.

“Thank you. The room is more than adequate.” He frowned at her and she reviewed her words and tone. She couldn’t find anything wrong with them so just waited for his criticism.

“It is my goal to make you feel at home here so don’t hesitate to tell me if you need anything.” She just blinked at him in confusion. She was perfectly capable of getting anything she needed.

“It is unwise to become too comfortable. It makes you sloppy and careless.’ And there was that look again. Pity mixed with curiosity as though she was a particularly interesting and sad puzzle he needed to figure out. She would never understand why such a common sense statement provoked that kind of response.

“I suppose you are right. Think of it like an undercover assignment then. I’ll tell everyone my great niece is staying with me and it would help if you appeared to be a semi normal teenager. That means having a room that doesn’t look like you’re three seconds from bolting out the window.” While she was less than thrilled with the idea, she had to admit he wasn’t wrong.


	14. Marinette's Education

Making the room look like a teenager lived there was harder than either of them initially realized. It didn’t help that neither of them had any idea what a normal kids room looked like. Master Fu wanted to take inspiration from movies and sitcoms but Marinette vetoed that idea in favor of finding online vlogs of teens in the area to see what their rooms looked like, figuring it would be a little more authentic. The problem with either of these methods was that they still had no idea why the rooms looked the way they did or what exactly her’s should have in it. That led to a discussion about hobbies which got them exactly nowhere other than Fu jokingly suggesting a chemistry set and immediately banning her from buying one when she showed an interest. Mixing her own poisons and explosives would come in handy.

The Kwami were even less helpful, though they did back her on the chemistry set argument since it would be useful for the potions in the book Nooroo had made her grab from Gabriel’s safe. Fu still wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that the four of them seemed so fond of her, or that she was able to get them out of the Miraculous without activating them. Plagg and Duusu had just frowned at him when he questioned it while Tikki explained.

“We can come out on our own if we’re invited to do so but no one ever does. The Guardian’s always seemed to be afraid of the consequences of us being out which is absurd given that before we were bound to the Miraculous we were everywhere even though the humans couldn’t see us. Those unbound are still everywhere.” That was how she learned that while Fu had been guarding the Miraculous, he’d been far too young when the Order was destroyed to have been taught everything. Then there was the fallout from killing Gabriel in the first place.

Generally she did her job and left. There were certain instances where she stuck around to make sure the fallout wasn’t too bad for the people she was trying to help, but for the most part things descended into chaos before righting themselves. It was just the way things worked. This time was different. First, the Mayor apparently decided that it was unnecessary for anyone to know Hawkmoth’s identity. He simply held a press conference to say that the terrorist wouldn’t be a problem anymore. How many people believed him it was impossible to say, but the attacks did stop so as time went on they relaxed.

Gabriel’s death was a far more complicated issue, and perhaps the Mayor declined to name him as a terrorist so that his brand and family wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout. The story that was circulating was that he’d been keeping his wife locked up in a secret room in the house, even his own son hadn’t known his mother was still there. There were conflicting stories of whether she killed him or a competitor had and that freed her but no one seemed to have any idea of the truth.

After she’d moved in with Fu the Kwami explained as much as they were able. Gabriel had always been a horrible husband and father. Controlling and abusive. His wife had tried to leave on multiple occasions but he threatened her family, including his own son. She’d bought the Miraculous from a vendor, thinking they were costume jewelry, knowing that Gabriel would hate them. When she discovered the Kwami she thought they were her way out and was preparing to use them to get herself and her son away from Paris. Unfortunately the man found out and in his rage actually killed Emilie. Duusu had channeled Tikki’s powers in order to save the woman she’d grown attached to, but at a great cost. It fractured the Miraculous and while Emilie was in fact still alive, it left her in a coma that only lifted when Marinette fixed the broach. That was another thing the Kwami could do that Fu wasn’t aware of, though it was obvious now why they never tried to channel powers from each other.

Watching the woman and her son on the news she felt certain they both knew the truth, at least about Gabriel being Hawkmoth . She felt slightly guilty about all the attention they were getting, but at the same time it would have come out eventually unless Hawkmoth had won, and this way they were able to control the fallout far better than if it had been a public take down. For now people seemed content to whisper their theories about how the fashion mogul had died rather than shouting them from the rooftops. Still… she knew how worried Plagg and Tikki were about their former holders and debated, many times, allowing them to go visit. They never actually asked though and she kept putting it off.

It was only a week of them butting heads before Fu decided that what her education lacked most was proper socialization. To fix this he wanted to enroll her in a private boarding school where she would be required to live on campus. When she pointed out that she’d have to disappear for possibly weeks at a time he waved it off as a minor concern.

“You can use Kaalki to go back and forth for surveillance and such and if you truly need to be onsite for days at a time you have the excuse of having to take care of your elderly relative. I have no problem writing a note to excuse you. And you’ll come back here on weekends so I can teach you about the Miraculous and other things you never got to learn due to your upbringing.” She told him no. Over and over again. Even the Kwami were against the idea at first until he caved and told her four companions that they could go with her. Then she was outnumbered and it took barely a week for her to capitulate just to make the whining and begging stop.

Another week after that she was standing in front of a security fence waiting for the guard to call someone in the front office to come make sure she was who she claimed, or at least had proper documentation, and escort her to her dorm. Her paperwork said she was Tris Wang. She didn’t care if the name was considered odd. She absolutely refused to go by her birth name, Fu didn’t even know how she was still. Being back in Paris was bad enough but she didn’t want the attention that would come with Marinette coming back from the dead. Unfortunately she didn’t take into account the fact that having the Kwami of good and bad luck on her person would amplify both in a manner that would wreak havoc with all her intentions and plans.


	15. The Universe is Laughing At You

The woman giving her a tour seemed knowledgeable and efficient, which she greatly appreciated. After seeing no sign of interest when she mentioned the academic and social clubs the woman simply handed her a list rather than going through them and when she said she’d prefer all the information in written form so she could go over it at her leisure she was given a stack of papers about two inches thick. It would give her something to look through since none of the classes she was enrolled in looked like they’d be a challenge.

“This is your dorm room. We offer coed housing and currently have you sharing common spaces with two girls and two boys. If that’s an issue please let me know so I can have you moved.” She could only frown at the woman in confusion.

“Everyone has their own bedroom, correct?” She just nodded. “Then why would there be a problem?”

“Some students or parents are uncomfortable with the idea of sharing living space with those of the opposite sex to whom they aren’t related.” That made absolutely no sense to her. Threat levels couldn’t be gauged on gender. Let her watch them fight, then she’d give you an accurate assessment. The woman took her silence as consent and led her into the room where there was a boy with dyed hair playing a guitar. “Oh good you’re here. Luka, I’d like to introduce you to your new suite mate, Tris Wang. Tris, this is Luka. You can think of him like a dorm mother. We always place an older student with a group of younger to help with any conflicts and to offer tips to help with school life. Specifically to prevent burnout.”

“Burnout? From what I can tell the curriculum is fairly basic, why would there be burnout?” Maybe it was all the extracurriculars that she had no interest in. The woman looked affronted but Luka seemed to be trying not to laugh.

“Our curriculum and staff are what make our graduates first pick at universities worldwide. I assure you it’s anything but basic.” Well if that was true she couldn’t even begin to imagine how mind numbingly boring regular schools would have been. At least it meant she’d have time for her actual work. “I will leave you in M. Couffaine’s capable hands.” As soon as she closed the door behind her Luka let out a chuckle.

“I’d advise against saying something like that to any of your instructors or you’ll find yourself swamped with homework. If you have any questions or concerns-”

“I won’t. Which room is mine?” He blinked at her abruptness and she made a mental note to at least let people finish talking before she answered.

“It’s that one.” He pointed at the door nearest the exit before eyeing her backpack and duffle bag. “I take it the rest of your things are being delivered?” She cocked her head at him, wondering if there was another supply list she hadn’t found.

“No. As far as I know I have everything I need.” Luka didn’t seem to know how to react at first but a smile slowly took over his expression.

“You and Kagami should get along famously.” She assumed that was one of her other roommates but before she could ask there was a commotion in the hallway and the door was thrown open. The first to walk in was a girl of obviously Asian descent and she felt comfortable assuming this was Kagami. The other two seemed to be fighting over who would enter first but when they finally made it through the door so she could see them properly she started up a string of internal curses that would have made League members blush.

Of course the two blondes that walked in would be the two former Miraculous holders. The boy she could care less about if she was being honest. She waited for Chloe to see her, hoping that the girl’s self involvement from when they were younger was still in enough use that she wouldn’t recognize her. It had been six years and they’d both changed so maybe she’d be safe.

“Guys, this is our new inmate Tris. Tris this is Kagami, Adrien, and Chloe.” Luka pointed as he named them, not that she needed it. Kagami offered a slight bow in greeting while Adrien gave a smile and a wave. Chloe was staring at her in confusion for a moment before Tris saw that spark of connection she’d been dreading. She was not prepared for this possibility and she had no clue how to handle it. A random encounter in public she could brush them off and be done with it. Living with someone was an entirely different story.

She was still trying to come up with a plan when Chloe shed her paralysis. Tris saw the beginnings of her birth name form on the other girl’s mouth and panicked. She moved before she thought and was fast enough that the others couldn’t react when she lunged at Chloe, covering her mouth and pulling her into the room Luka said was hers. She closed and locked the door behind them before turning to face a stunned Chloe.

“Everyone said you were dead.” The hushed whisper pulled her from her thoughts and she was surprised to see tears in Chloe’s eyes. Of all the people she’d expected to care about her disappearance she could confidently say Chloe’s name appeared nowhere on that list. What had happened to create such a change?

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng ceased to exist the night her parents died.” She could see the worry and confusion in the other girls face at the dead tone coming out of her mouth. She couldn’t explain things to her. Even knowing she was alive put Chloe in danger, but at the same time who would believe that she’d been kidnapped by an organization of assassins? It sounded completely absurd. “If you can’t refer to me as Tris I need to know so that I can drop out of this school.”

Chloe pulled her into a crushing hug and it took all her self control not to react to it like an attack. She was certain the last hug she got was the night her parents died and she’d honestly forgotten what it felt like.


	16. Coming to an Understanding

Tris just stood there, honestly trying to remember how you were supposed to react to being hugged. If you hugged back, where were you supposed to put your hands? She remembered her mother patting her on the back to comfort her… she thought. Should she do that? Before she could come up with an answer Chloe pulled back to look at her.

“If you’re in some sort of trouble, Daddy can help. Just tell me where the people keeping you are and I’ll have them all arrested.” It took a second for her to realize that the girl obviously thought she was still being held by her kidnappers, or possibly part of some human trafficking ring. The irony of the girl saying her father could help when the Mayor actually hired her to deal with the Hawkmoth situation was quite funny if she was being honest.

“I promise I’m not being held anywhere against my will.” Against her better judgement, absolutely but that was a different issue. “I’m perfectly safe at the moment but I’ll only stay that way if people don’t know who I am. It’s really important Chloe.” Tris was going to have to have a long talk with Fu this weekend. She had no doubt that he’d put her with his holders on purpose to ‘teach her a lesson’ but he didn’t know her background at all. This type of surprise, any surprise really, was far more dangerous than he realized.

“Fine, for now.” Chloe didn’t sound satisfied with her answer and Tris sighed. She had no desire to talk about what happened even if it wouldn’t put the girl at even more risk but she was going to have to say something eventually. “You’ve changed.”

“So have you.” Chloe flinched and Tris cocked her head in confusion. She hadn’t meant it as an insult. “It’s been six years and we were just children Chloe, of course we’ve changed. Your’s at least seems to be for the better.” Chloe just gave her a sad smile.

“It’s because of you, you know.” Tris just frowned at her. “After what happened, everything changed. Parents got insanely paranoid which is why I’m in this prison in the first place. But when my parents finally explained that you weren’t coming back… I don’t know, it just changed everything. Suddenly one of the few stable things in my life was gone and I didn’t know what to do. It forced me to look at myself in a new way, though I didn’t understand that until recently.” Judging from the wistful look on her face Tris would be willing to bet Tikki helped with that realization. She supposed one good thing about this was that she could let the Kwami visit their former holders without worrying too much about the trouble they could get up to.

“Well, whatever the reason, you seem happier now than when we were little.” For all she’d pretended to have everything a person could ever want she’d always been able to see the pain and disappointment behind it all. All of it was gone now.

“I am, though I wish my happiness didn’t come only because you lost yours.” She didn’t have a response to that. She certainly couldn’t deny that she wasn’t happy. She’d been numb for so long she wasn’t even certain she’d remember the feeling. Luckily they were interrupted by a timid knock on the door.

“Um… Chloe? Do we need to call campus security? Kagami’s about ready to try and scale the building to get to the window.” Adrien’s voice sounded half worried and half amused.

“That’s highly inaccurate. These doors aren’t exactly quality material so it would be far more efficient to just break it down.” Well, at least one of them had a brain. That was good to know.

“I’m fine, just catching up is all.” Chloe stepped closer to Tris before lowering her voice. “Do you speak English by chance?” Tris just nodded. She wasn’t certain anymore how many languages she knew, but English had been one of the first. “Well go with part of the truth then, just say we met when we were little but in New York while I was visiting with my mom and we haven’t seen each other in years.”

“That works, though it doesn’t really explain why I dragged you in here.” Chloe just shrugged.

“That’s easy. You met me before my transformation and I used to tease you horribly. You’re trying to get a new start at this school and you didn’t want me prejudicing anyone against you. I mean, that’s actually the truth in a way. I’m really sorry for everything I did to you when we were younger.” Tris cocked her head in thought.

“That would actually make a good cover. From what I understand a lot of kids that are bullied become isolated so my lack of social graces and antisocial behavior should be much more acceptable. And you don’t have to apologize. What’s done is done and honestly I don’t remember much before…” Before everything went wrong. Honestly Chloe’s teasing and obnoxious behavior didn’t even rate on her scale of horrible after she’d been with the League for a month. Chloe pulled her into another hug and this time she hesitantly returned it.

“I’m going to be a friend to you this time, I promise.” Tris could only nod. When was the last time she’d even thought about having friends?

“We should probably get out there before your friend decides to follow through with her threat of breaking down the door. I’d really rather not have to have it replaced my first day here.” Chloe gave an amused snort before pulling away and squaring her shoulders to go to the door. When she unlocked and opened it the boys practically fell in looking sheepish and Kagami had a sabre in her hand. Chloe gave them all an exasperated look.

“You’re all utterly ridiculous.”


	17. Introduction to Socialization

“So you used to bully her?” Adrien seemed confused by the idea and Tris wasn’t certain if it was because Chloe had never been mean to him personally or he’d never seen her around other kids when she was still in her spoiled rotten stage.

“Yes Adrikins, I’ve told you before that I haven’t always been a nice person.” Given the exasperation in Chloe’s expression and tone this was a recurring conversation. Adrien still looked confused.

“You’ve always been nice to me.” Chloe just rolled her eyes.

“That’s because you’re in the same socioeconomic class and, from what little I’ve seen, had about the same level of parental dysfunction.” Tris didn’t even realize she’d voiced the thought until she realized they were all staring at her. Chloe looked like she was bouncing back and forth between horrified and amused, Luka had a small smile on his face that she couldn’t read at all, Kagami was giving her a searching look, and Adrien honestly looked like a kicked puppy. “I just meant that Chloe’s mother ignored her in favor of her business just like your father did and you both come from wealthy families so she wouldn’t have seen you as beneath her or a threat.”

None of their expressions changed and she reviewed the words in her head to try and understand. If they’d all had the same or even similar reactions that would be one thing but she couldn’t figure out why they all reacted so strongly but so differently. She’d only stated the obvious. Chloe cleared her throat drawing the attention back to herself which Tris was grateful for.

“I mean she’s not wrong per se. When I was small that is how I judged people though I didn’t know it at the time. Mar– Uh, Tris was not exactly poor but to me she was and she had parents who both loved and doted on her so I guess I was jealous.” She seemed to be thinking out loud without realizing what exactly came out of her mouth. When she did she shot Tris an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up…”

Tris just shrugged. Other than when she’d gone to their graves she honestly didn’t think about her parents much anymore. Maybe it was a defense mechanism, or maybe it was because she was so young at the time but they almost didn’t feel real to her. Violence and pain were the only constants in her life anymore everything else just felt muted somehow.

“Well Tris why don’t you tell us a little about yourself then. What do you like to do?” Adrien’s question probably should have been one she expected but the phrasing wasn’t. Like to do? She did what was necessary and what she had to do but like?

“I don’t know.” For all it was an honest answer it seemed to be the wrong one. She didn’t like the way they were all staring at her. “I do what is required, what does liking have to do with anything?”

“This is going to be like Kagami all over again isn’t it? We’re going to have to introduce you to things like fun and parties.” Tris wrinkled her nose in disgust at the mention of parties. Too many people with no good reason to be in such proximity. She would never understand the appeal. Not to mention it made it extremely easy for someone to get close enough to harm you. It’s how she’d taken out a few targets herself.

“Keep talking Agreste and you’ll get the full force of my wrath the next time we spar.” The boy paled and stuttered at the threat.

“I like you.” She hadn’t meant to voice the thought out loud. She really needed to get better about keeping things in her head. When you spent as much time alone as she did there wasn’t really a need to worry about when you did and didn’t talk.

“Don’t worry, the rest grow on you over time. Sort of like a particularly persistent rash. Well except Luka, he’s more like a piece of furniture that’s always been there and you just never noticed before.” That was an interesting visual, but she could sort of understand what she meant, especially about Luka. His presence wasn’t threatening or obtrusive, he was just sort of there.

“Excuse you, I’m a delightful human being and you’re lucky to have me in your life.” Chloe’s words held a mock offense which made Tris realize just how much she had changed. The seven year old Chloe would have immediately called for her Daddy to punish such a statement. Now she was actually joking with someone after they’d insulted her. It was a bit unsettling if she was being honest.

“Except for in the mornings. Do not go near Chloe before seven if you value your life.” Adrien’s tone was serious but his eyes were laughing.

“Ignore them. You’re officially my best friend now since I’m surrounded by traitors.” Tris could only blink at the turns the conversation was taking. Was this how normal teenagers talked? There was no reason to it, and no real point that she could see. It wasn’t instructive or informative and if anything seemed meant to confuse. This was going to take a lot of study to understand.

“We’re friends?” The question brought everyone else in the room to a sudden halt and Tris wasn’t sure what she’d done, again. It was an honest question. She thought that there were social requirements to be met before people were considered friends.

“Of course we are. We’re roommates which mean we’re either friends or at war. For my part war is just too much effort in addition to classes.” Tris couldn’t tell if Chloe was joking or not.


	18. Learning Curve

Three days. That’s all it took for Tris to decide that she wanted nothing to do with this school or the teachers who insisted on talking down to her because she knew their material better than they did. One even had the audacity to correct her and when she cited six different primary sources to back up her position he’d sent her to the headmaster’s office. The man didn’t seem to know what to do with her, no one in the school did.

“Which teacher did you piss off this time?” She looked up from her seat outside the office to see Adrien coming towards her. His always cheerful expression made her worry about him sometimes but he was pleasant to be around.

“All of them.” He let out a bark of laughter but then frowned at her.

“You’re not serious are you?” She just frowned back.

“Of course I’m serious. What else would I be?” He didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. “They’re all in there trying to get the headmaster to expel me.” His eyes grew wider with every word.

“By all of them you mean…”

“All of them. Even the study hall teacher because apparently he took offense to my comment about it being a wasted period since the classes here are far too rudimentary to require any serious study.” Adrien coughed to cover a laugh before pulling out his phone. She didn’t see what was funny about any of this. “What are you doing?”

“Texting Chloe. If she finds out I knew about this and didn’t warn her so she could make sure you stay enrolled I don’t think anyone would find my body.” Tris rolled her eyes, but given that Chloe’s father had hired the Angel of Death it was possible she could find someone capable of that. Not to mention Kagami was a bit of a wild card. Tris couldn’t be sure exactly what the girl’s skill set was.

“Tell her not to bother. There’s absolutely no point in my being here to learn if no one is going to teach me properly.” They didn’t even teach proper study techniques given the fact that she’d helped all her roommates, including Luka, with their study habits. It was no wonder burnout was an issue when they didn’t give their students the proper tools.

“What if you switch classes to subjects that you don’t already know so much about?” Adrien was still typing away on his phone and it sounded like an off hand comment but Tris frowned in thought.

“Given some of the misinformation I’ve heard come out of the teachers here I’m not sure I trust the staff to teach me anything accurately. But I suppose I could supplement their teaching with my own research. What kind of classes though?” Adrien gave a thoughtful hum.

“Well you’ve been banned from the gym so sports are out.” She scowled at the reminder. She still didn’t think it was her fault that the teacher had told her not to hold back and she ended up breaking another student’s nose within the first five seconds of the match. She also didn’t understand why the boy had cried about it. “There’s music, art, architecture, religion and cultural studies, design… oh and they just started a graphic design and video game development course!”

“Why would anyone waste time on such a useless pursuit? Video games are a complete waste of time when you could be doing something productive.” Adrien’s expression fell and she was once again reminded of a kicked puppy. She really didn’t like that look. “I guess art or design wouldn’t be terrible.” At least the knowledge would be useful and creative thinking was always an asset.

“Great! I’m sure Chloe will get everything figured out. Just try not to injure anyone else, or make another teacher cry.” He sounded extremely amused by the last part though she couldn’t understand why. Watching a grown man cry as she picked apart what was apparently his doctoral thesis had been rather pathetic. If he can’t handle the criticism he should have put more effort into it in the first place. She’d heard a rumor that he’d taken a sabbatical and checked into a mental institution, but wasn’t sure she believed it.

“If the teachers were competent it wouldn’t be an issue.I should not have to correct their misinformation and it honestly worries me that so many people have been taught such flawed curriculum.” Adrien let out a sigh before sitting down next to her. They all seemed to be under the impression that she was being far too critical of the school.

“Perhaps you’re right, but nothings going to change and long as you keep putting their backs up. People get defensive when someone challenges them. Maybe you could try being nicer about it? That way they might actually be willing to listen to what you have to say. Because right now all you’re doing is forcing them to stick to their flawed teaching or admit that a student that has far less education than them knows more about the subject they’ve basically dedicated their lives to. No one likes to admit they’re wrong, especially if they feel like it’s being rubbed in their face.”

Tris considered his words carefully. Criticism had been a daily, if not hourly occurrence in her life from the time she was taken. It had ceased to bother her not long after, but she did vaguely remember being annoyed when anyone corrected her at something she felt she knew. She hadn’t realized that’s what she was doing to those teachers. She still thought they needed to get over it, but this might be one of those things she was supposed to learn.

“I’ll try to be more sensitive in the future.” Adrien beamed at her.


	19. Morning Thoughts

Thursday night she told Tikki and Plagg to go see their holders. She hadn’t wanted their appearance to coincide with hers, but she could feel how impatient they were. She would also admit to being curious how much they knew about what had happened, especially Adrien. She was still staring at the ceiling debating if it would be appropriate to ask the Kwami what they talked about when she fell asleep.

When she woke thee next morning it was almost ten. Her new class schedule didn’t take effect until Monday and she’d more or less been banned from going near her former teachers. All four Kwami were asleep on top of her and she realized she still hadn’t figured out what she should or shouldn’t ask them. The real question, she supposed, was would any of it be relevant?

“You know kid, you can talk to us rather than let everything fester in your head. Even if we want to, we can’t betray your confidence.” She looked down to see four sets of eyes staring at her, all of them concerned. She felt an odd pressure in her chest and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“I know, I’m just not used to it I guess.” That and Talia had punished anything that even seemed like a question and thinking out loud was definitely in that category. “Do Chloe or Adrien have any idea that I was the Akuma?” There were so many questions she wanted to ask but that was the only one that seemed like it would matter in the larger scheme of things. Both Tikki and Plagg shook their heads.

“No. They did talk about what happened with each other but they didn’t recognize you. Chloe’s really worried about you though. She asked me for advice on how to make you more comfortable, but I really didn’t know what to tell her.” Tikki sounded… sad or maybe guilty? She didn’t understand why though.

“I am comfortable.” The Kwami shared a disbelieving look. “Plagg, do you think Adrien will hate me if he finds out it was me?” She didn’t even know where the question came from. It didn’t matter in the slightest but… he’d been very nice so far and for some reason she didn’t like the idea of him hating her. Didn’t really like the idea of any of them hating her for that matter. Plagg looked a bit stunned by the question.

“No, I don’t think so kit. Gabriel wasn’t much of a father to begin with and knowing he was Hawkmoth made it worse. In a way you helped him, and not just with that. You gave him his mother back when you fixed Duusu’s Miraculous. I think that would override anything even if his father wasn’t a useless waste of a human being.” She could only let out an amused snort, but the worry was still there. She could feel all the Kwami looking at her again.

“Tris… how do you really know Chloe?” Tikki’s question was hesitant and she knew exactly why. The Kwami had all been inactive that first day so they hadn’t heard their discussion and she’d refused to tell any of them about her past. She wasn’t even sure why other than she didn’t want to think about it and was still at least partly concerned that she would lose them and that information would be in other hands. But it was mostly just her unwillingness to relive it in any way. Then again this would be in the time before she got kidnapped, so surely that wouldn’t be as bad, right?

“Before… before my training I grew up here in Paris. Chloe and I were classmates when we were small. She picked on me mostly, when she noticed me at all.” Most of the time it was like she didn’t even exist, but any time Chloe was in a particularly bad mood, she always went after Marinette. Trying to think back on it was like watching a film. She didn’t really feel attached to it at all.

“Why did she do that?” The question came from Nooroo and she frowned in thought, trying to remember. At the time she’d had no idea but looking back… there had to be something. She’d been obnoxious to everyone but it was always Marinette she went after for anything major.

“I think… maybe because we were so different? Or it may have had something to do with my parents.” She heard her voice crack on the last word and was honestly surprised it came out at all. But it did seem like things got especially bad if Chloe saw her with her parents or there was a career day at school once and her parents both came while neither of Chloe’s did. The next day she was particularly awful. She couldn’t really understand the why of it but it seemed like the timing fit. But it was a long time ago. Tikki was frowning in thought but the others just looked concerned.

“Wait… you’re the one that disappeared aren’t you?” Tikki had flown far too close to her face but she could still see the concerned expression. She nodded, assuming she was the only one Chloe knew personally that had vanished off the face of the earth. “Chloe used to talk about you all the time! What happened to you… it really affected her. Not like it affected you obviously! I didn’t mean that-”

“It’s okay Tikki. I know what you meant. I don’t really understand why it affected her though. She always seemed to hate me.” The Kwami all shared looks but she couldn’t interpret them.

“You were a big part of her life and suddenly you weren’t there.” Tikki seemed to be trying to explain without betraying a confidence. Tris thought about it, trying to come up with something similar in her own life. Talia. The name filtered through her head and she winced. The woman had completely destroyed her life and even though she’d been away from her for years she still let her affect a lot of her decisions. Rather she’d often try to figure out what Talia would do so she could do the opposite. That didn’t feel like the same thing though.

“So once I wasn’t there for her to bully, she missed me?” There was another exchange of looks she couldn’t interpret.

“Well… kind of? But there’s a lot more to it than that. You should really talk to her about it though. I think it would do you both some good.” Tris frowned at Tikki’s suggestion. How was she even supposed to start that conversation?


	20. Familiar Surroundings

That afternoon found Tris wandering the streets of Paris. She was wearing a hoodie and gator both to conceal her face and so there was enough pocket room for the Kwami. She had a specific destination in mind but she was trying hard not to think about it. Instead she concentrated on the threads she could see everywhere. It was one more thing she hadn’t told Fu but the Kwami had tried to explain it to her.

There were threads connecting everything in the world around them. The strings that formed between people were an example. Everyone could see the strings that were important to them but in truth there were so many more they couldn’t see. Tris could see all of them now and while it was still a bit overwhelming it was actually helping her to interact with and understand the world around her. Rather than trying to read people themselves she could look at the threads connecting them to everything around them.

Granted she still had no idea what they meant most of the time but she was learning, and it was far easier to figure out the threads than actual people. Different people showed emotions and other tells in different ways but the threads for any given situation were the same. She’d figured out that friendship was a pale green. All her roommates shared it though it was being wrapped in another that was close to a navy blue and she had no idea what it was. Tikki said it meant that their relationship with each other was on the verge of changing but seemed reluctant to tell her how exactly. It was frustrating, but still better than dealing with making the same determinations based on how people interacted with the world around them. She was so busy considering different colors and how they connected and intertwined that she ended up at her destination without realizing it.

Looking at the building she could feel a tightness in her chest and it wouldn’t go away. She knew from her research that it wasn’t occupied. The owner sent someone once a month or so to clean and make sure no repairs were needed but other than that no one went in. She noticed that the school nearby was letting out students, and realized how late it was, but she still just stood there. For some reason she couldn’t decide if she wanted to leave or go in.

“I thought you’d end up here at some point.” She frowned at the words before turning to see Chloe staring at her with…concern? Or maybe pity. That’s why she preferred to look at the threads, they were less confusing.

All the threads coming from Tris were gray except one that was a deep purple and one that was an inky black. The purple was the color of a strong familial bond and she knew it connected to her Nonna. From her observations, that shade of black denoted a deep mutual hatred. She assumed Talia was on the other end which was a shame since she’d hoped the woman had died along with her son.

Gray seemed to denote that the person impacted your life in some way without becoming something significant. The lighter the gray the less the impact. Most people in big cities had an immense number of light gray strings. People you walked by on the street, the cashier that rang you up at the store, this driver that took you to the airport… all minor interactions most people don’t pay attention to.

The string between her and Chloe was growing darker by the day and on Chole’s end was turning the pale green that she shared with her friends. Tris wasn’t certain what to think of it.

“It looks exactly the same as I remember.” And it did. Staring at the building across the street brought a wave of nostalgia she hadn’t expected. Even cold and lifeless, it was still home. Chloe looked around to see how close people were and lowered her voice.

“Your Nonna has someone come in to clean and see if any repairs are needed once a month but otherwise no one’s lived there.” Tris knew that. Had hacked into a number of databases to find it out actually.

“How do you know that?”

“Once a year she goes to see Daddy and the police to try and get your missing persons case reopened. The last couple years I’ve talked to her, first because I needed to apologize to someone for the way I treated you and then because she seemed to enjoy talking about you so much.” Tris frowned at the tightness in her chest.

“If she’s been trying to get them to reopen the case I’m sure she’s told them that our string is still there so why does everyone think I’m dead?” Chloe let out a tired sigh.

“Because no one else can verify it. Given what happened to your parents everyone seems convinced that she’s a bit delusional. She wants the string to be there so she sees it. They say that losing her entire family in one night was too much for her so since your body wasn’t found she can pretend your string was still there. I always thought it seemed weird and she never seemed crazy to me but everyone else told me you were dead.” She supposed that made sense, but they obviously didn’t know her Nonna very well if they thought she’d snap like that.

“I don’t get why she doesn’t just sell the place. It must be a huge annoyance to maintain it.” Chloe blinked and looked at her in shock. Tris couldn’t figure out why.

“Wait… don’t tell me you haven’t contacted her?” Tris just shook her head. “Why not?! Do you have any idea how worried about you she is.”

“Better she be worried than disappointed in what I’ve become.” Her son was dead and her granddaughter had become just like the monster who’d killed him. No good could come from that meeting.


	21. Random Encounters

Chloe didn’t seem to know how to respond but Tris’s attention was shifted to a group of kids that looked her age walking towards them from the school. One of them looked really familiar. Before she could even grasp what she was seeing she spoke.

“Is that Nino?” Chloe turned to see what she was looking at and nodded.

“Yes, and see that tall buff one? That’s Kim.” Tris couldn’t help but give her a disbelieving look.

“You’re kidding right? That chubby kid who constantly threw sand at me and screamed bloody murder about me giving him cooties turned into that?” Chloe just grinned at her and nodded. “Good for him I guess. Hope his attitude has gotten better.” It was so strange to see people that she knew after so long, though she should have expected it. She was suddenly very glad she’d thought to hide her face as the group got closer.

She studied the threads connecting the group and wasn’t sure what to make of it. All of them had the pale green of friendship connecting them to the others, except one of the girls in front. All the strings that went to her started out green but as they got closer to the girl turned into a sickly brownish yellow color. She’d never seen that before. Even stranger was that all her strings seemed to have that taint on them. Family, friends, even the gray ones. How odd. As they got closer the one with the taint stopped and looked at the bakery before giving out an exaggerated sigh.

“What’s wrong girl?” The girl next to her in glasses asked but all of them looked concerned. The one with the taint faked a surprised look for some reason before answering.

“It’s nothing, really.” She looked around to gauge the reactions of the group before continuing. “It’s actually a really big secret so I shouldn’t say anything.” That got the interest she was looking for if the gleam in her eye was any indication. Tris shared a confused look with Chloe.

“You can tell us Lila, you know we’ll keep it to ourselves.” Tris could only roll her eyes. Between the number in the group and the fact that they were on a busy street and not keeping their voices down, there was no way anything would be kept secret. Considering the glance the one called Lila was giving her and Chloe, she didn’t want it to be a secret.

“Thanks Alya, I know I can trust you guys. It just that well… I used to live there.” Tris saw Kim and Nino share a look but most of the class looked confused.

“It’s a bakery…” Alya was looking between Lila and the building obviously trying to make a connection. Finally Kim cleared his throat.

“No one has lived there since the Dupain-Chengs were killed.” His voice actually cracked a little on the last word. Tris wasn’t sure what to make of the look on Lila’s face. It was pleased maybe, or satisfied? The threads coming from her seemed to be pulsing with the taint. Tris watched as she put on a sad expression. Even as bad as she was with people she could tell it was fake.

“Well… I’m sure you all know that the daughter was never found.” There were a bunch of nods. “Well, that’s me. I’m Maria.” Nino looked like his brain had melted and Kim seemed about to throw up. The rest of the group was eating it up. Then Chloe exploded.

“Marinette!” Tris jumped and the entire group froze. “Her name was Marinette you opportunistic bimbo. How dare you!” Tris actually had to hold her back. Lila started the waterworks.

“Maria is what my family and close friends called me. I can’t believe you would accuse me of lying when you were listening in on a private conversation.” Dear god the liar needed to shut up before Chloe killed her.

“Yeah. How dare you eavesdrop on us.” Alya obviously couldn’t sense danger, but it did split Chloe’s focus long enough for Tris to get a word in.

“If you want a private conversation then speak in private, or at the very least don’t pitch your voice in a way specifically meant to carry. She meant for us to hear it she just wasn’t expecting to be called out.” A few of the group seemed to be thinking about her words.

“Of course I didn’t expect for someone to argue with me about my name.” She was still squeezing out tears and some of the group were trying to console her.

“It’s not your name. You don’t even look like Marinette. Wrong skin tone, wrong bone structure, wrong hair color, wrong eye color, wrong everything!” Tris needed to find a way to stop this before Chloe got so worked up she outed her. For all she was a better person and trying to be a friend Tris didn’t want to risk it.

“How would you know?” Before either of them could respond to Alya, Nino spoke up.

“Well for starters her picture was everywhere for over a year after she disappeared, dudette. Everyone who lived in Paris at that time knows what she looks like.” There was more muttering in the group and Tris could see the calculations running in Lila’s eyes. She swore she could feel the moment the girl decided to make her last fatal error.

“That was a decoy, to make the people who were after me think I was gone. The Mayor set it up himself because I’m best friends with his daughter, Zoey.” Tris locked eyes with Chloe and felt an odd sensation in her chest. Then they both burst out laughing.


	22. It All Falls Down

“Can’t breathe!” Tris couldn’t even remember the last time she’d laughed and judging by the dizziness from oxygen deprivation she’d forgotten how to do it properly. Chloe was wheezing next to her while they attempted to prop each other up. Finally Chloe managed to get her voice back.

“Lahiffe.” Nino looked a bit panicked when she addressed him. Chloe just stood there examining her nails. “Tell this imbecilic liar who I am so she can stop embarrassing herself.” The amount of scorn and sarcasm in that statement was impressive. Nino cleared his throat nervously.

“You’re Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the Mayor of Paris.” Most of the others just looked extremely confused but Kim was actually glaring at Chloe for some reason.

“And you definitely weren’t best friends with Marinette.” Kim sounded strange but she couldn’t place the tone, Chloe looked guilty.

“No, I wasn’t.” Her voice was soft and unsure. “And that’s something I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life.” Nino and Kim were both just looking at her like she’d grown another head. Everyone else seemed to still be processing.

The muttering started back up and most of them pulled out phones to look things up and show each other. Alya still seemed too shocked to move and now all the strings going from them to Lila were turning into a neon orange.

As for the liar herself Tris could see the girl trying to come up with a way to get out of this. Given the nonsense she’d come up with so far, it could be entertaining. The gray string connecting her to Chloe suddenly turned inky black.

“This is all your fault!” Lila moved so suddenly that Tris wouldn’t have reacted in time if not for the color shift. She lunged at Chloe and Tris intercepted the movement, spinning Lila around and pinning her arms behind her back.

“Really? Your lies come crashing down on you and you think the way to salvage that is to attack the Mayor’s daughter?” Her tone said plainly that she thought the girl was an idiot, but Lila didn’t seem to hear her. Instead she was struggling against Tris’s hold still trying to get at Chloe. She was acting like a rabid animal and those were the most dangerous type of people.

Chloe was staring at Tris in shock and she realized that no one had any idea of her training. She’d have to mention martial arts training at some point to explain her skill. The rest of the group was looking at her in awe.

“What is she, your bodyguard?” Chloe rolled her eyes at the question from a pink haired girl on roller blades.

“She’s my friend, though it’s good to know she’s multipurpose.” Tris just sent Chloe a bland look as Lila continued to struggle. She was persistent. The question was what to do with her.

“Do you want to call the police?” The question caused the girl to freeze and Tris got the impression she’d only just realized what she’d done. Chloe was frowning at her in thought.

“You don’t need to do that! This was all just a big misunderstanding.” She started tearing up and Tris could only share a shocked look with Chloe. Was she really going to try and lie her way out of this after what just happened? “You see I’m actually working with the police to help solve the disappearance. You’d just be blowing my cover.” Tris was developing a migraine.

“So you’re working with the police but calling them will blow your cover? That’s what you’re going with.” She couldn’t help the derision in her tone and honestly didn’t try. Most of the group was now glaring at her as well. That seemed to get her to panic.

“I have diplomatic immunity! The police can’t do anything to me anyway.” Now she just sounded pissed again and was glaring at Chloe.

“I would suggest you calm down. I wouldn’t want you to break anything fighting my hold.” She said the words low enough that only Lila and Chloe could hear them. Chloe shot her a look she couldn’t really interpret but Lila sucked in a sharp breath and did stop moving. It was something at least. Tris raised an eyebrow at Chloe.

“I’m willing to forget this nonsense, but if I ever hear of you saying anything at all about Marinette again, I’ll have you deported.” Lila seemed to be studying Chloe, obviously deciding how serious she was. Tris was done with this nonsense.

“I’d be less worried about her and more worried about all the things I’m capable of doing. Unless of course you want to never be found just like Marinette.” She spoke directly into the liar’s ear, too soft even for Chloe to hear and watched as she paled. About time she started taking something seriously.

“I won’t say anything! I’ll be good, I swear.” Tris let go of her and the girl bolted away from everyone. Chloe was giving her an odd look.

“What did you say to her?” She kept her voice below the murmuring of the other kids and Tris just gave her an innocent look.

“Just offering a bit of advice.”


	23. Going Home

Chloe was frowning at her but Tris just stood there calmly. She wasn’t certain what was going on in the other girl’s head but talking about it here was definitely not the best option.

“How do you know the Mayor’s daughter?” Alya finally appeared to have come out of her stupor, but she still just looked confused. Kim was the one that ended up answering.

“Before Marinette disappeared the four of us were in the same class. Chloe’s dad pulled her out and sent her to a private school right after it happened.” Nino let out an amused snort.

“Everyone who could afford it did the same and a bunch of others just pulled their kids out to homeschool. At least until they realized that meant they actually had to spend time with their kids.” The other boy in glasses nodded in agreement.

“There was a fifteen percent drop in enrollment throughout Paris directly after the incident. Within two months roughly ninety percent of those pulled out had been re-enrolled. My parents for example realized they weren’t equipped to meet my educational needs.” A girl on roller blades let out an amused snort.

“Mine just realized they couldn’t deal with me twenty four seven and sent me back so they didn’t go insane.” There were a few chuckles throughout the group. Tris hadn’t ever thought about how her disappearance would affect others. Hadn’t even considered that it could to be honest. Of course she did have a lot of other things to worry about back then. She felt the Kwami all snuggling into her to offer comfort and Chloe was giving her an odd look so she tried to get away from those thoughts.

“What exactly are you doing here Chloe? I didn’t think your dad ever let you off your leash.” Kim’s tone was hostile and Tris could only frown at him in confusion. She didn’t remember Chloe being mean to him when they were younger, at least not more than anyone else.

“I’m showing my friend around, and as you’ve seen she’s more than capable so of course Daddy allowed it.” Tris shot a sideways glance at her wondering where her father actually thought she was and how much trouble she’d be in if he found out she wasn’t there.

“You must be the new suite mate.” Tris turned her frown to a girl with purple highlights. She seemed to go mute and was trying to hide behind a shorter girl.

“Juleka is Luka’s sister. I’m sure he’s told her about you, especially after you helped him actually get a passing grade on his trig midterm.” Chloe sounded highly amused by that for some reason. All she’d done was tell him that he should turn anything he was having problems remembering into a song since music was his comfort zone. She still didn’t understand how it had never been suggested before. One more reason she hated that school.

“Oh.” Everyone was looking at her expectantly but she didn’t know why. She really needed to study how people her age interacted with each other more if she was going to be forced into this type of situation more often. Finally Chloe took pity on her.

“Juleka, this is Tris. She’s even more introverted than you and quite possibly the most socially awkward person I’ve ever met.” Well, she wasn’t wrong. Tris just shrugged in acceptance of the claim. The last thing she wanted to do was argue and draw this out further.

“I should probably get going. I’m due for a long discussion with someone and I really shouldn’t put it off. I’ll see you Monday.” No one was expecting the abrupt departure so she was able to make it over a block before Chloe yelled something at her she couldn’t hear. Knowing she would hear about it Monday at school, Tris still ignored it to head back to Fu’s home. They really needed to talk.

————————————————————————————-

Fu was gone when she arrived and had left a note saying he wouldn’t be back until late the next day. He was the one who told her to come back on the weekends to train with him and now he wasn’t even here. Apparently their talk would have to wait.

She was far too restless to sleep that night. Staying in one place so long had her on edge. Every instinct she had was on high alert and she finally gave up and decided to go for a run on the rooftops. She suited up in her assassin gear and headed out with no particular destination in mind.

Still, she wasn’t surprised when she ended up on her old balcony. As she stood there she couldn’t help but wonder if anything had changed. Had her Nonna left everything as it was or did she get rid of everything? In the end she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to at least take a look around.

The trap door was unlocked and she could only shake her head at the oversight. It wouldn’t be hard for someone to get up here, even without her training. She dropped into the room silently and suddenly she felt like she was seven again. Her room was exactly the same. She thought she didn’t remember it but seeing it again brought back everything. On the wall in front of her was a drawing she’d done of her family. It was terrible, but she remembered how proud she’d been at the time. Her Maman had said how artistic she was and her Papa had helped her put it up so she could see it everyday. She reached forward, not even certain why.

“I was hoping you’d find your way home.”


	24. Finding the Past

Tris spun around, knives appearing in both hands without thought as she dove away from the voice. Once she was facing them she froze in shock. She couldn’t make out the person in the dim light, but she could very clearly see the string connecting them. Her mind however refused to wrap itself around the fact that they of all people could be here.

“You have changed. I remember a time when nothing could keep you quiet. Come my fairy, give your Nonna a hug.” Tris couldn’t think. Every time she tried it was like whitenoise took over and all she got was a buzzing feeling. Her body reacted anyway. She heard the knives hit the floor, felt herself lurch towards the arms outstretched to catch her. When those same arms wrapped around her the pressure in her chest seemed to burst and she heard her own sobs.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” She heard her own voice but still didn’t feel connected to any of it. It was like her mind had completely shut down and the rest of her was acting on instinct. Her Nonna made calm shushing noises and ran soothing fingers through her hair. In the end she could do nothing but let herself be comforted while she waited to come back to herself.

“My poor sweet fairy, you have nothing to be sorry about.” That statement seemed to shock her system back into focus. The panic started almost instantly. What would she think and do when she found out the truth? Her mind supplied thoughts of being spurned and a look of disgust on her Nonna’s face as she was left alone again. Her entire body stiffened and her guilt made her pull away.

“I have far more to be sorry for than you can imagine. I do not deserve your sympathy.” Her tone was flat but even she could hear the exhaustion under it. This meeting was one she’d been dreading and avoiding for three years. Now she would lose the last family she had. She could see in her mind the string connecting them turning from the deep purple it now was to the same black as the string that must connect her to Talia. Gentle hands on her face brought her out of her thoughts.

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry. If I had convinced your parents to let me take you like I should have, none of this would have happened. They insisted on keeping you with them though, and because of that we had to suppress your powers and that would have been the one thing that may have saved all of you.” Tris could only blink at her in confusion.

“What?” She had powers? And her parents knew about it? There was far too much to unpack in that thought. Her Nonna offered her a sad smile and continued to run calming fingers through her hair.

“Let’s go downstairs so we can talk. You deserve to know everything and it isn’t going to be a short conversation.” As she turned to the trapdoor Tris couldn’t stop herself from latching onto the woman’s wrist. When she turned back with a concerned expression it almost kept her from speaking. Almost.

“Do you know who took me? What I’ve become?” Her voice cracked and tears blurred her vision. She didn’t want to get too comfortable if there was a chance she’d still be rejected.

“I know roughly where you were after you were taken, and I know the name you’ve been operating under for the past three years. I have my assumptions as to why you were taken, but I don’t know exactly by who. If I did I would have come after you.” Tris couldn’t get a proper read on her tone. There was anger but she knew it wasn’t aimed at her. There was something underneath that reminded her of the tone Talia used with her anytime she was particularly enraged with someone. It put her on edge.

“If you know what I am, how can you stand to even look at me?” Her confusion caused her grandmother’s look to soften.

“We all do what we must to survive Marinette.” She flinched at the use of her real name and was pulled into a hug. “Even now you worry about others more than yourself and you’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it. Given some of the things I’ve done I wouldn’t have any right to judge your actions anyway.” Tris looked up to see a gentle smile and for the first time in forever she felt like things might be okay. “Now, why don’t you pick up your knives and come downstairs. We have so much to talk about.”

She watched her Nonna walk out of the room and stood there staring after her for a long moment. The four Kwami were suddenly floating in her line of sight, all looking concerned. She could only blink at them for a moment before she turned and went to retrieve the knives. Everything was happening so fast and she didn’t know how to handle it. Should she tell her about the Kwami? What if Nonna wanted her to travel with her? Could she put her in so much danger, and what about Fu and the rest of the Miraculous? She never thought she’d lament the days when she was only an assassin, but it would make all of this so much simpler.

“Just breath Tris. Take it moment by moment. You can do this.” Tikki’s words made sense. All she could do now was see how everything went. She didn’t have to decide anything tonight. At least she hoped she didn’t. As she walked back towards the trapdoor the Kwami returned to the hoodie she was wearing and cuddled against her in support. Without understanding why she did it, she pulled Plagg’s ring out of her pocket and put it on. The only thought that filtered through her head was, ‘just in case’. Plagg moved to the back of her neck and she could feel him purring in an effort to calm her. He wasn’t making any noise though which meant he could be a grounding force for what was to come. She was almost certain she’d need it.


	25. Learning About Herself

When she went downstairs she couldn’t help but think about how nothing here had changed. Hearing that her Nonna hired someone to clean she’d assumed it was empty but nothing was different from how she remembered. All the furniture was in exactly the same place. Even the pictures and books seemed not to have moved. She couldn’t decide if it was nice or creepy.

“How did you know I was here?” Family or not, there was no reason for her to be here. Last Tris knew the woman was in South America.

“As soon as Harkmoth appeared I started monitoring the Mayor’s communications. It was inevitable that he’d panic and look for help so I made sure he’d contact you. I could never find a way to get ahead of you until now.” The pride in her voice was unexpected but it made Tris feel warm. It was strange to have an adult praise her, even indirectly. “Even knowing you were in the city I couldn’t find you which is why I was hoping you’d come here.”

“How did you make sure he contacted me?” She knew she was very young when she was taken but she didn’t remember anything about her Nonna that would lead her to believe she was more than a world traveler. Even her research since hadn’t unearthed anything, granted she hadn’t been looking beyond the surface. That had been a mistake obviously.

“I planted the original idea with his daughter over a year ago actually. Whenever I go to see her father she comes to talk to me about you. I mentioned contacting the Angel of Death to go after traffickers. After that I made sure some of his emails, or phone calls subtly suggested using you for various problems. That is my gift, the power of suggestion. It’s nothing compared to yours but it serves me well.” Tris could only blink at her. Then suddenly she thought back to her last few jobs as well as some she’d turned down. The wording in the contacts had been strange on some of the one’s she’d turned down. They’d just given her a bad feeling.

“You tried to use it on me first didn’t you?” She looked surprised and Tris knew she was right. “So you tried to get me where you wanted directly and when that didn’t work you decided to manipulate me second hand?” She hated people playing mind games on her. Hated being controlled.

“Only because I didn’t know how else to see you. I’m not stupid Marinette. All the jobs you take are about as far from wherever I am as possible. There’s no way that’s a coincidence. If I had contacted you directly would you even have answered?” She opened her mouth to replay but couldn’t. She honestly didn’t know what she would have done.

“It’s my fault they’re dead. I thought you’d hate me if you knew what really happened.” And that didn’t even include what she’d done since. She was a monster, she had to be to have such a soulmate.

“It was never your fault, and I could never hate you. You should be the one mad at me for letting your parents make decisions when they didn’t understand you. Your father didn’t inherit any powers himself and your mother’s family never showed any signs of them either. But I knew the risk they were taking. Could I have predicted what happened? No, but given that you presented with gifts so strongly I should have at least considered it.” Tris frowned at her in confusion.

“I don’t understand.” The words came out through gritted teeth. In the League such a statement would have earned a harsh punishment. In her life now not understanding could easily kill her. Not understanding herself and what she was capable of was basically a ticking time bomb.

“Power draws more power to it, always. The gifts you were born with have the potential to shape the world. It was inevitable that you would gain attention. I had hoped that suppressing them would give us more time, at least for me to convince your parents of the necessity of properly training you. They wanted you to live a normal life first. They wanted you to be happy and not burdened with what you could do.” That certainly sounded like her parents. Now that she thought about it her Maman had constantly tried to get her to help people when she saw their weaknesses. Her Papa had tried so hard to keep her interest in making things rather than destroying them.

“They were afraid of me weren’t they? Afraid of what I was capable of.” After all the effort they’d put in she’d become exactly what they were trying to avoid. “What am I capable of?” She finally looked up to see her Nonna’s reaction and there was nothing but sympathy on her face.

“Your parents weren’t afraid of you, they just didn’t understand. As to what you’re capable of, I’m not entirely certain. You’ve always been advanced in strategy and seeing the flaws in everything. I think you were three when you started fixing your father’s recipes.” She sounded amused but Tris just frowned. She remembered being his taste tester, but she’d assumed he liked giving her treats. “Then there are the threads.”

“You know I can see them?” That got a surprised look and she watched her Nonna open and close her mouth a few times.

“As in you can see them now?” Tris just nodded. “The magic suppressing you must have failed somehow. It’s not just seeing them either. You can actually manipulate them which was why we did what we did. I wanted to take you to a remote area and let you learn to use your gifts in nature. It’s much harder to change the way a rock is connected to a tree then it is people. You would have learned far better control without the chance of messing with people’s lives. But that’s neither here nor there at the moment.”

“So you’re saying I can potentially change the string between two people and make them go from friends to enemies without anything in their lives changing?” Her Nonna frowned at the question but Tris’s mind was reeling. How many people had she affected? She’d only started seeing the strings after fixing Duusu’s Miraculous, but what if she’d been subconsciously changing things all this time? Had she wanted her parents dead and simply attached herself to Damian to make it happen?

“I don’t know your full potential but when you were little you could only manage small shifts. Granted if you keep doing them over time you could do what you said, but it would take a long time. The bigger the change the harder it is to shift. The longer a relationship has been in place, the less likely you can affect it easily. You also could never create a relationship from nothing.” More questions without answers. Why did everything have to be so complicated?


	26. Assumptions

“Marinette, I know that this is a lot for you to take in. I should have done more when you were younger and I’m sorry for that. But I would like to help you now. We can go somewhere remote that no one can find us and I’ll help you figure all of this out.” It was tempting, but highly impractical. She couldn’t just disappear both because of the reasons she’d given Fu and the Miraculous themselves. If her Nonna had figured out she was the Angel of Death Tris thought it was highly likely Talia knew as well. Then again…

“How did you know I’m the Angel of Death in the first place? As far as I knew no one was aware of my identity.” She watched the woman’s face carefully, couldn’t help herself. It was ingrained in her to look for any signs of inconsistency or deceit. Her Nonna debated what to tell her. The question was why?

“The way you choose targets and the lack of collateral damage.” Tris just frowned at her in confusion. “Do you remember what your mother told you when you were little? About how everything is connected?”

“She always said that if you remove one piece in a system the entire system feels the loss. She was always trying to tell me that every part is necessary for things to function properly. Even in people and societies, though that’s not entirely true.” Even as a child she’d known it was wrong but she hadn’t wanted to say anything. Her Nonna wore a fond smile.

“Yes. Your parents always underestimated your understanding. She was trying to keep you from arbitrarily deciding to destroy things but tended to over simplify. Still, you found the right answer on your own. You always did. The way you pick targets shows that. You don’t always go for the obvious choice but you do take out the most vital piece to destroy the system. And you make sure that it affects the least number of innocent people. I’ve never seen another assassin with that kind of precision, let alone concern for the fallout.”

Tris just nodded. It made sense now that she considered it. It also meant that Talia likely had no idea who she was. She’d been extremely careful to conceal her talents while with the League. Even while she was playing them against each other she made sure nothing could be traced back to her. From everything she could gather the woman still thought Deathstroke was the ignition point.

“I can’t go with you, though I appreciate the offer.” She saw surprise then contemplation on Nonna’s face.

“Marinette, you can’t keep going on the way you have been. All you’ve been doing to this point is surviving but at some point you have to choose how you want to live. As smart as you are you don’t have the first idea of what that means. You need my help.” Tris felt a surge of anger before all the Kwami snuggled into her to remind her they were there. She couldn’t afford to let emotions decide her actions but she was so sick of everyone telling her what she did and did not know, what she should and should not do.

“Your first mistake is assuming I can walk away from the life I’m currently surviving. Your second is that I haven’t thought up and dismissed hundreds of exit plans. Your third is believing I’ll put your life in danger by staying with you.” She could feel Plagg purring on the back of her neck as she stared down her Nonna. The woman was looking at her like she was a puzzle and Tris honestly found it amusing. She’d spent most of her life trying to understand who and what she was and hadn’t managed it. No one else had a chance.

“Who was it that took you?” Tris flinched at the question. “It’s obvious it was an elite group but I would like to know who exactly it was that found out about you and how.”

“You think I was taken because of my powers?” Of course she did, why else would someone go after a child? “I was taken because of a string connecting me to the future leader of the League of Assassins.” She waited, staring at the wall, as her Nonna processed that information. There was no possible way this conversation ended well.

“You mean Talia’s boy?” Her head snapped up in shock. Nonna didn’t look revolted or even surprised, just confused.

“You know Talia?” Her voice cracked on the name but she couldn’t help it. How was it even possible that the woman knew Talia?

“We’ve crossed paths. If she didn’t know about you then she couldn’t have been happy about you being connected to Damian.” Well that was an understatement

“She wasn’t. She made that very clear. Now that I can see the string connecting us I’m certain she hates me. I do wonder if that hatred started before or after her son died though.” It was one of the many things she wondered about. The Kwami had been helpful in figuring out a lot of things but she still had so many questions.

“Damian’s dead?” Tris just nodded while her Nonna studied her. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but she didn’t seem able to find it.

“And you’re okay with that? I’m assuming it was a red string that connected you.”

“I am and it was. We were never really allowed to interact so other than the pain of the string itself snapping it didn’t really affect me.” She felt the Kwami cuddle into her and Plagg purring harder against her neck. She wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t believe her or felt sorry for her. Maybe both. Judging by the look Nonna was giving her she definitely didn’t believe it.


	27. Complications

The next night, Tris waited impatiently for Fu to return. She did not want to tell him about her past but she needed him to understand that he couldn’t keep screwing with her the way he had by making her room with Chloe. It was far too dangerous for him to make those decisions without consulting her first. This line of thought already had her pissed off and on edge when Wayzz flew in with his bracelet. Damn it.

“What the hell happened now?” She spoke through gritted teeth to avoid yelling. The Kwami wasn’t the one she was mad at. Wayzz hesitated.

“The Guardian went to find your handler to get you out of being an assassin.” Tris pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to fight off the impending explosion.

“I told him that I don’t have a handler.” She said the words slowly. Wayzz offered her a sheepish look.

“He assumed you were lying to protect yourself or them.” Tris could only sigh in annoyance.

“He was the one who said I don’t lie in the first place. Why did he decide that this of all things is what I would lie about?”

“He thought that with it being a matter of life and death you would. And you have to admit you do keep secrets.” She was going to have an aneurysm, she could feel it.

“Of course I keep secrets. So does he so he should understand that concept. Where is he?” She was going to have to go rescue him if for no other reason than to keep him from telling anyone what he knew about her. It wasn’t much but it was more than enough to draw attention she didn’t need.

“I’m not allowed to tell you. He didn’t want you to endanger yourself coming after him.” Tris could only scoff at that. She wasn’t the one that would be in danger.

“Fine, who did he go after then?” Wayzz seemed to consider the question and Tris was banking on the fact that Fu wouldn’t have forbidden him from mentioning anything but his physical location. She had no reason to think he was careful enough to think she’d be able to find him if she didn’t know exactly where he was.

“Some group calling themselves the Shadow Brigade.”

“The Shadow-!” She couldn’t even get the whole name out as her throat closed in rage. She struggled to get her laptop open without breaking it as her hands shook from the anger. “I can’t believe he would think I’d ever have anything to do with those bottom feeders! They’ve never once had an op where they didn’t lose men. Most of the time they don’t even manage to take out their target. Hell, they’re laughingstocks because of the time two of them mistook the other for their target and took out their own team.”

All the Kwami were floating there looking at her like she’d gone insane but they didn’t understand. If the Angel of Death was ever connected to those idiots there would be people coming out of the woodwork to take her down, and not just assassins either. Every contract she took would likely be a trap to get her out in the open. She had to stop this before… Shit. The Darkweb was already swimming with rumors of her being a child. She was going to have to put them down hard to salvage her reputation at all. This was a disaster.

She found the Shadow Brigade easily enough. Their security was just as inept as everything else about them and in no time she was hacked into their system. Not only could she access their cameras but all their blueprints and guard schedules were on the same server. While she was grateful she wouldn’t have to work too hard to take them down she couldn’t help but think that the challenge was what made things interesting. This would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

“You can’t go after him.” She just raised an eyebrow at Wayzz. “If you both end up captured there will be no one to protect the Miracle Box.” She just rolled her eyes.

“If those morons capture me I deserve to die. But if it will make you feel better I’ll take the box to Ladybug and only keep you and Nooroo on me in case of an emergency.” Plagg, Tikki, and Wayzz all started shouting denials. Dusuu was studying her. Poor Nooroo just looked stunned. “Enough. My mind is made up.” None of the Kwami looked happy but they did stop bothering her so she could finalize her plans.

————————————————-

Chloe was getting ready for bed when she heard a noise out on her balcony. That was strange. When she went to the window she didn’t see anything at first. She was about to shrug it off when her eyes landed on what looked like a fancy jewelry box just outside the doors. It looked familiar and she opened the door to pick it up. When she did she saw the letter on top of it with her name written in flowing script. Once she was back in her room, the box securely on her vanity she opened the envelope.

Chloe,

I apologize for springing this on you with no warning, but time is short and I know you can be trusted. The Guardian of the Miraculous has been kidnapped and I must retrieve him. I do not anticipate any difficulties with this task, but on the off chance things do go wrong the Miraculous must be protected. As such, I must ask you to keep the box safe until I or the Guardian can come collect it. It is a great responsibility but I would not have given it to you if I had any doubt you were the right person for the job.

It wasn’t signed and Chloe had to read through it several times before her brain would actually process the words correctly. When she did she immediately opened the box to see many pieces of jewelry, including a very familiar pair of earrings. She reached for them, almost half certain this was some kind of sick joke.


	28. Oh Look, More Complications

As Tris finished clearing the perimeter she could only sigh in annoyance and disappointment. So far she’d killed seven sentries and no one had noticed. These idiots didn’t even deserve to call themselves assassins. How do you not have regular check ins? As she made her way to the side entrance she honestly considered just bursting in the front door to see how bad their reaction times were but decided that just because they had no idea what they were doing didn’t mean she should go against her own training and plans.

There were only fifteen total people in the compound and the eight she hadn’t dealt with were all in the room where they were holding Fu. She was honestly a bit thankful he’d managed to fixate on the only assassin organization that was just as inept as he seemed to be. When she entered the room silently three were taunting Fu, two were sleeping in chairs, one was on a computer and the other two seemed to be staring off into space. How had this become her life?

She dealt with the two sleeping first. It wasn’t even a challenge to sneak up on them and put blades through their back. The one at the computer was next because he was the only one that might actually look at the outside cameras and realize the sentries were gone. However when she got behind him it was to see a bunch of funny animal videos. Every time she thought this couldn’t get any worse they proved her wrong. Once he was slumped over the desk she weighed her options. The two that seemed to be in their own little worlds were standing so she might actually draw attention if one or both went down. That could cause the three to kill Fu before going after her, depending on whether they considered him an asset or not. If she went for them first she’d be able to shield the man from the other two as they attacked.

She’d picked up guns from the sentries. These guys might be incompetent but they did have good weaponry. All their sidearms had silencers and while she normally hated using firearms with five against one it was the most efficient option. The three around Fu all went down within a minute. Headshots because she didn’t want to risk anything lower and possibly hitting Fu. Her marksmanship was impeccable but her luck had always been shit so she did her best to avoid any unlikely contingencies like one of them moving at the last second or risking she’d hit a piece of gear she hadn’t seen that would cause a bullet to ricochet.

She apparently didn’t need to worry about the two idiots standing by the wall. One look and the bodies and one started screaming while the other threw up. She couldn’t believe she’d had to lower herself to take out such unworthy opponents. But it could be considered helping mankind by removing them from the gene pool she supposed. She stepped out into the open but neither noticed. Pathetic. Fu watched her shoot both with a look of horror on his face though his gag kept him from scolding her at the moment. She really didn’t want to listen to a lecture from a man who had no concept of her life or how much danger he’d put them both in. Before she could untie him the wall in the back crumbled. He had both guns aimed at the hole but could only groan as she saw who stepped through.

“Why can no one listen and follow simple directions?” She was done, with all of this to be honest. In front of her were Ladybug, Chat Noir and… “How did you even get a hold of Wonder Woman of all people on such short notice?” As far as she knew the Miraculous holders had never asked for outside help. Wayzz popped up between the two groups.

“Tikki can contact former holders if they’re alive, one of which is her mother. I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm.” Tris could only grumble in annoyance as she finished untying Fu. When she turned back around it was to see the heroes looking at all the bodies in horror.

“You did this?” Wonder Woman’s tone was half disbelief and half censure and Tris spoke through clenched teeth to avoid throwing a tantrum like a child.

“Yes I did.” She tried to keep her voice even and managed it, barely. She pointed to Fu. “This idiot came here and gave these worthless piles of garbage information about me that I can’t afford to let spread. Not to mention they’re already making me a laughing stock in the community and I won’t let that stand. Now everyone will know exactly what the consequences are for slandering my reputation.” She had put on her mask with a voice modulator for a number of reasons, though the primary one was that it made her sound older so she could just claim to be short rather than a teenager. Now that the Miraculous holders had shown up she was extremely glad she’d taken the precaution.

Everyone in the room was looking at her like she was a monster which was annoying but not unexpected. No one seemed to know what to say to her though she could see a lecture building in both the adults. She was about to tell them they would need to hold it in when she saw one of her strings move, indicating the person was close. She spun around pointing both guns she held on the target as her Nonna stepped out of the shadows. What the hell?

“Gina, you’re supposed to be keeping an eye on the perimeter.” How on earth did Wonder Woman know her Nonna? The string between them was a reddish brown color that she thought indicated friendly acquaintances but definitely not friends. She really, really, needed to do a deeper background check on the woman.

“No need, my granddaughter is amazingly efficient.” Tris only had a chance to start cursing in her head before everything went to shit. Wonder Woman blinked at Gina in confusion.

“Granddaughter?”

“Marinette?” Ladybug’s voice was strained but far too audible and Fu frowned in confusion.

“I thought your name was Tris.” Son of a…

“Tris?!” Chat’s startled yep caused everyone but Tris and Gina to jump in surprise. She couldn’t stop the explosion that followed, granted she didn’t really try.

“Damn it, am I the only one that has any type of common sense or self preservation instincts? You know what, never mind I don’t care. Here.” She tossed the two Miraculous she’d kept on her at Fu before turning to head out the window. “I’m done. This is why I don’t work with anyone, let alone amateurs who can’t grasp even the simplest things. I’m not going to stay here to be killed by your stupidity.” She’d almost made it to the window when a new voice sounded behind her.

“Wait! I’m going with you.” She turned in time to see Nooroo grab their Miraculous from Fu’s open hand before flying to her and attaching themself to her collar. Well that complicated things.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.” She tried not to sound harsh but the Kwami drooped with a hurt look anyway.

“But you said I could be useful. Don’t you like me?”


	29. Putting the Pieces Together

“Of course I do Nooroo, but it’s dangerous for you to come with me. After this mess there’s likely to be others coming after me until I kill enough of them to make them stop. Not to mention the organization that trained me was under the impression that I was dead and one of them, at least, is going to recognize the way I fight.” Tris glared at Fu the entire time she was speaking. None of this would have happened if he had just talked to her rather than running off to try and get himself killed. She was too focused on him and didn’t notice a string connected to Adrien move until it was too late.

“So you’re the one who murdered my husband.” She was mentally cursing in every language she knew as a woman, obviously wielding Duusu’s Miraculous, stepped out of the shadows. She’d given the box to Chloe for safe keeping, not so she could just hand Miraculous out to everyone she knew. At this point she half expected Luka and Kagami to show up in costume. Granted it was nice to know that the strings weren’t at all impacted by the Miraculous, at least not to her.

“I am.” Tris couldn’t tell by the woman’s tone if she was upset by that fact or not, but she wasn’t about to back down now. She did what was necessary, and she’d do it again.

“She’s also the one that fixed Duusu’s Miraculous and saved you.” Nooroo was floating protectively in front of her glaring at everyone indiscriminately. She wasn’t certain why the Kwami had decided she was his to guard but he’d been incredibly overprotective since the night she’d rescued him. Chat Noir went over to whisper in the woman’s ear and her expression went from confused to shocked. Great, just what she needed, one more person knowing how old she was. She’d gone three years with no one finding out and now there was absolutely no hope of ever keeping it underwraps. There were going to be assassins coming at her left and right to prove they’re better than her. Because her life wasn’t screwed up enough as it was.

“This is really not the place for this conversation. I was live streaming the fight, or rather massacre, to try and stop the rumors now going around that I’m an inept child thanks to someone telling these idiots information I foolishly divulged.” Fu just looked at her calmly, no sign of guilt or remorse. She was seconds away from stabbing him just to let out frustrations and he didn’t seem to sense the danger. She really shouldn’t be surprised. “So if everyone is going to insist on lecturing me before I disappear I suggest we go elsewhere.” She would just leave but knowing Chloe especially, someone would try to come after her and that would just get them killed.

The Miraculous holders looked confused more than anything else. Wonder Woman was frowning at her the same way all her teachers did when she corrected their misinformation. She couldn’t wait for whatever was going to come out of her. Fu looked disappointed, it was a look she was used to getting from Talia to be honest. Her Nonna though… she looked smug? No that wasn’t it. Proud maybe? It had been so long since anyone had looked at her like that she honestly wasn’t sure.

“Lead on then.” She took the cue from Gina and headed back out the side entrance assuming the others would follow. She was honestly hoping they didn’t but there was no way she’d get that lucky. She ended up leading them to the warehouse she’d used to meet Fu at. It seemed appropriate and even if everyone else seemed willing to divulge their identities and secrets she wasn’t going to help them. She was tempted to take them back to Fu’s shop just to get back at him, but the Kwami would be in more danger if she did that. When they got there the others detransformed and it took everything in her not to yell at them for their lack of caution. Plagg, Tikki, and Duusu all immediately rushed her to cling onto her.

“You can’t just leave.”

“You can’t just leave me here with them! I haven’t had this much fun in centuries.”

“Even if you do leave the Miraculous will still be in danger since people will come after Fu to find you. We must make a plan before anything else.” Duusu’s plea and Plagg’s insulted tone didn’t carry near the weight of Tikki’s reason. The Kwami of creation had a point and she really did need to figure out how to keep them all safe. Fu she couldn’t care less about but the Kwami needed to be protected.

“And you’re all just okay with the fact that she makes a living killing people?” Wonder Woman sounded somewhere between insulted and confused by the Kwami’s behavior though she had no idea why.

“My fairy only goes after those that need to be killed. Men and women who destroy innocent lives for no reason other than power and greed. She’s doing the world a favor and you should all be thanking her for it.” Yep, definitely pride. It was so weird to hear that directed at her.

“You’re the new roommate that Adrien was telling me about. The one with no social skills that’s making the faculty cry and have mental breakdowns.” She just shrugged at Mme. Agreste’s comment but Chloe let out a bark of laughter.

“You should have seen her tear apart the history teacher’s doctoral thesis. It was a thing of beauty. She’s not allowed near any of the general education teachers now.” She still didn’t understand what the big deal was. He should have been happy she pointed out his mistakes before he actually turned it in.

“You really killed my father?” Adrien’s timid question made her pause. For all Plagg seemed to think he wouldn’t hate her for it, people tended to be rather attached to their family whether they deserved it or not.

“Yes.” He was obviously expecting more of a response but she wasn’t going to make excuses for it. She was hired to do a job and she did it, end of story. Chloe let out a strangled noise.

“You’re an assassin.” Tris just nodded. Wasn’t that already established? “Someone paid you to go after Hawkmoth.” She nodded again finally understanding where she was going with this. “My father hired you didn’t he?”


	30. Fu's Ignorance

Tris didn’t respond. She was looking for cues from the others to see if or how she should. Gina was just studying Chloe and Tris got the impression she was surprised Chloe had actually put the pieces together so fast. Adrien and his mother both seemed lost in their own thoughts so no help there. Wonder Woman was studying Tris for some reason. Fu looked… pleased?

“You bastard, you meant for this to happen.” She didn’t need the small smirk to confirm her suspicions. “Why? What could you have possibly gained by putting yourself and all the Kwami at risk like this?” The man let out a disappointed sigh and it took everything in her to not throw one of her knives at him.

“I had hoped you would enlist the help of Tikki and Plagg’s holders rather than defaulting back to killing for one. It was not necessary to save me.” He sounded like he was explaining something to a toddler yet didn’t seem to understand the danger of doing so. She was going to have an aneurysm at this rate.

“I didn’t kill them to save you. If you want to get yourself killed that’s your prerogative. I killed them because you gave them information about me that puts me, the Kwami, and anyone who happens to be around me at risk of being tortured and killed. Well, stolen in the case of the Miraculous but the point remains. You think Hawkmoth was bad? Imagine what all of them in the hands of assassins will do.” Everyone else seemed to be properly horrified by the idea. Fu actually rolled his eyes at her.

“It is very common in young people to think they are the center of the universe. I assure you others don’t see you as nearly the threat you think they do. When you get older you’ll understand.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to take deep breaths. She tried to tell herself that he didn’t understand the situation, which he didn’t. She tried to tell herself that his attitude made sense in most normal circumstances. Unfortunately she was too focused on not becoming homicidal herself to think about the others’ reactions.

“This isn’t some regular teen drama, we’re talking about groups of trained killers and you’re being flippant! How did you ever even become a Guardian?” Wonder Woman broke down into cursing at the man in various languages. Tris was impressed both at the originality and the fact that she didn’t know some of the languages.

“Especially considering you don’t even know which group of assassins she was affiliated with. The fact that you even thought she came out of that group of fools says how little you know about either their skill or hers.” Gina’s voice dripped with disdain and Marinette was glad there was someone there who understood the difference between those fools and other organizations. Especially the League of Assassins.

“You know nothing about my past other than the code name I’ve been operating under. I assure you I’m not exaggerating my importance or the probability of others coming after me. If the people who trained me realize I’m alive all hell will break loose and anyone close to me will be acceptable collateral damage.” She actually shuddered at the thought of Talia showing up in Paris. They would be begging for Hawkmoth’s return.

“I don’t understand why you would allow someone with that background near the Miraculous in the first place.” Mme. Agreste was splitting her frowns between Tris and Fu, though it seemed more confusion than anything else. It was obvious she had no idea exactly how bad of an idea it was to let Tris near them, of course neither did Fu.

“That was our decision.” Tikki was hovering protectively in front of her along Plagg. “Tris may have been forced into a life of violence but she’s still a good person at heart. She needs us and will make a good Guardian if she accepts the task.” Everyone looked at the Kwami in shock. Tris knew they wanted her to train with Fu but she hadn’t realized they were thinking that far ahead. She’d been constantly noticing how lax he was when it came to protecting them, but she hadn’t really considered taking over herself. She thought they just wanted him to humanize her again.

“Marinette has always been one of the kindest and most considerate people I’ve ever encountered. No matter what she was trained for she’s still herself. You can see that if you look at the aftermath of all her jobs.” She blinked at Chloe’s defense of her. Even knowing that her Nonna had planted the idea she was surprised Chloe had actually researched her. It was kind of weird to think about to be honest.

“And how exactly do you two know each other?” Fu’s question brought another flash of anger as she remembered the discussion she had originally planned on having with him.

“If you had ever bothered to ask me whether it was a good idea to house me with your holders you would know that I was born in Paris and lived here until my training. Chloe knew me at the time.” Fu seemed rather taken aback by that information. He obviously hadn’t considered the possibility when he decided she needed to be taught a lesson. She couldn’t really blame him but at the same time he was playing with her by forcing her into that situation and that she took offense to. “Which is why you’re going to be fully explaining anything that involves me in the future, assuming I don’t just leave you to your own devices now that you’ve unleashed this shitstorm.”

“What about the Miraculous?” Wonder Woman’s tone was slightly panicked and Tris could see her demanding the box for safekeeping. It would certainly be safer than Fu.

“That is up to the Kwami. I wouldn’t take or leave them without their consent. My life may not be the safest but I at least know how to disappear and take precautions. If that is their choice they will be safe. But again, I will not force them to go, that would make me no better than those who took me.” She saw concern on Chloe’s face moments before she marched up to Tris and pulled her into a crushing hug. She still didn’t really know how to react to that. The Agrestes shared a look before something seemed to dawn on Emilie.

“Wait… Marinette, as is Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” She winced at the reminder of her full name. It had been so long since she’d heard or been called that it didn’t even feel familiar anymore. That girl was dead, despite what Chloe had said.


	31. Culture Shock

“That was my name, yes.” Tris’s voice sounded flat but she couldn’t help it. Pretty much everyone was giving her looks of pity. Fu merely continued to frown at her as though trying to put a puzzle together and her Nonna was studying her as well.

“Your abduction is what allowed me to finally get Adrien out of the house and into a boarding school. Since your parents were killed while with you I was able to convince my husband that it was safer for him to have our son elsewhere. The man was nothing if not selfish.” She could only blink at Mme. Agreste for a moment. She was supposed to respond, she knew that much.

“You’re welcome?” Definitely not the right response. Mme. Agreste looked like she’d been slapped while Chloe and Adrien just looked horrified. Her Nonna however looked like she was trying not to laugh. She would never understand how she was supposed to act around other people if she kept getting conflicting data like this.

“I wasn’t trying to say I’m glad you were abducted or that your parents…” She cleared her throat. “I just meant that your disappearance affected us, and I’m sure a lot of other people.” Tris was still having trouble processing that. She thought it might stem from the fact that Talia had constantly told her she was less than nothing. Something only worthy of notice to show how much better others were. She wasn’t important. Damian was and she was privileged enough to be tied to him. According to Talia that was the only thing about her that was worthy of attention.

“I understand.” She didn’t but she had learned that the appearance of sameness seemed to comfort people. Yet another thing she didn’t understand. Mme. Agreste did appear to relax a bit though. Wonder Woman was giving her a searching look. As if she could tell Tris was just trying to placate the woman.

“You said your name was Marinette.” Her Nonna’s emphasis on the word ‘was’ implied a question but Tris just nodded. She wasn’t even certain she knew why she felt that way, there was no chance of explaining it to someone else. Not to mention she wasn’t certain how much she wanted anyone here to know. The Kwami all cuddled into her again, Plagg purring audibly causing Chloe and Adrein to share a look she couldn’t interpret.

“Do you want to leave Paris?” She could only blink at Adrien’s question. He seemed awfully stuck on the idea of want and she still didn’t understand it.

“It’s unsafe for me to stay here. Unsafe for all of you as well.” Everyone was frowning at her now. She had no idea why but at least the reactions were consistent this time.

“What if it wasn’t?” She tilted her head at her Nonna, frowning. She seemed to know the life Tris lived, at least to an extent. It’s not the question she would have expected.

“I don’t deal in what if’s. People will be coming after me and him.” She gestured to Fu. It wasn’t just her identity that had been broadcasted on the darkweb. Luckily they only knew he was connected to her rather than the Miraculous but that was bad enough.

“That’s a simple fix. We’ll video you killing him then you can take a job in another country. Start up your normal routine again. There won’t be any reason for someone to look for you in Paris since no one knows of your connection to the city.” The others didn’t seem to know how to react but Tris thought it could work.

“To what end? Other than making sure this fool and the Miraculous stay safe until he endangers them again anyway.” Fu was glaring at her but the others were all looking at her with concern.

“So that you can stay. So that you can build a life rather than simply jump from place to place or job to job.” Tris was certain her confusion showed on her face but she couldn’t help it.

“To what end?” Chloe and Adrien both looked hurt for some reason. All the adults except Fu were just studying her again. She was starting to feel like a science experiment.

“You’ve developed relationships here. Made friends. Don’t you want to stay here?” Tris blew out a frustrated breath.

“Why does everyone ask that?” They all looked confused by the question.

“Ask what exactly?” Wonder Woman was the one who recovered first but she still sounded hesitant.

“What I want. I don’t understand why everyone is so focused on something that doesn’t matter.” And there was the pity again. She really hated dealing with other people. None of them made sense.

“What you want is important.” She couldn’t help the derisive snort that left her at her Nonna’s words.

“Wants are nothing but a childish notion. They don’t matter and often lead to mistakes and indolence. I can’t afford to let my life be led by such foolishness.” No one seemed to know how to respond to that. Even the Kwami were side eyeing her again. It was her Nonna that finally reacted, coming to stand in front of her and cupping her face. The woman was searching her eyes for something. Whatever she found caused her face to harden.

“I’m going to destroy that bitch for damaging you so badly. The way she conceived and treated her son was shameful enough but I will not allow her neglect and abuse of you to go unpunished.” Tris felt a shiver go down her spine at the woman’s tone. Fear wasn’t something that registered with her anymore but all her senses seemed to kick into gear as her body tried to prepare for a battle. Her Nonna’s gaze softened when Tris tensed. “I’m not upset with you my Fairy. I’m upset for you. You have been denied so many things in life, but I’m going to make sure you can at least experience being a teenager.”

“I am a teenager. Doesn’t that mean I’m experiencing it?”


	32. Chapter 32

After everyone got past their horror and/or amusement at her reaction, which no one would explain, they decided to just go ahead with killing Fu on camera. Regardless of the rest, that at least would be necessary to keep the Miraculous safe. It seemed like they’d all decided to ignore the conversation of whether she would stay in Paris or not. Currently they were waiting for Chloe to come back with the Miracle box. She watched her Nonna and Fu in a corner and couldn’t help a sense of foreboding as they talked.

“You have options you know.” Mme. Agreste’s concerned face caused her to sigh and rub her temples. She really didn’t want to have this conversation again.

“I really don’t. There are far too many factors none of you understand. I can’t just stop doing what I do without major consequences. I’m not a normal kid and never will be. You all talk as though there’s some kind of fix for what I am but there isn’t. My world doesn’t conform to your beliefs and opinions.” Both she and Adrien were looking at her with pity. She was so sick of that look.

“I refuse to believe that you are doomed to a life of violence and isolation because of something that happened when you were seven. There has to be a way out.” When Tris locked eyes with Mme. Agreste the woman flinched. She’d had people tell her many times how unnerving her stare was in a child. She didn’t understand it but she used it to her advantage.

“What you believe has absolutely no bearing on my life. The only way for me to live in anything resembling the life you envision would require far more death and blood shed. I can name at least two dozen people off hand that would need to die before I could even consider it. Most of them skilled and hard to find. By the time I track them all down and do what needs to be done I’ll be an adult and even more entrenched in the world I currently inhabit. The only other way out is death.” Mme. Agreste just frowned and walked away but Adrien just stood there looking confused.

“Is this why you don’t know what fun is?” Tris blinked at Adrien and could only stare at him for a moment.

“How is that what you focus on in this conversation?” The boy actually grinned at her and it just confused her more. His expression turned slightly more serious as he answered.

“Look Tris, I don’t know anything about what you’ve been through and I’m not stupid enough to think I can give you any useful advise or insights. But I do remember what it’s like to live in a bubble and be cut off from the world around us. I was lucky enough to have someone to help me transition and I’d like to help you.” She could only frown at him as she tried to understand. For all she was good at finding weaknesses in people she still didn’t have the faintest idea why they acted the way they did for the most part. Adrien especially continued to elude her understanding.

“You’re supposed to hate me.” Adrien looked shocked and it was one more reaction to catalog. She hoped that if she observed him enough he would start to make sense, but she wasn’t very hopeful. Plagg whispered something in his ear and she watched understanding dawn on his face.

“I don’t hate you for what you did. Gabriel was never a real father. Honestly I’ve been in that school for so long that I barely remember him and most of those memories are bad. If anything I’m grateful to you. Not that he’s dead, but Duusu told us that you’re the reason my Mom is here. If you hadn’t fixed the Miraculous I’d be an orphan.” She tried to follow his reasoning. She supposed it made sense in a way but he wouldn’t have been at risk of being an orphan if she hadn’t killed his father in the first place.

“What’s wrong with being an orphan?” She didn’t even know where the words came from. Adrien had that kicked puppy look again and started stuttering out apologies. It took her a moment to figure out why. “It’s fine Adrien. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I shouldn’t have said anything.” Adrien wandered away still looking guilty and Tris tried to figure out why she’d reacted that way. She’d never really thought of herself as an orphan. Hadn’t really had time to process the thought in the beginning and after… she’d had other things to focus on. She wondered if this feeling of otherness was why Chloe had hated her so much when they were little. She was still considering it when Chloe returned with the box.

“So what’s the plan?” Tris blinked as Chloe handed the box to her rather than Fu. His annoyed expression caused her to fight a small smile. She hadn’t enjoyed someone else’s frustration so much since she’d managed to feed Talia false information that got her publicly reprimanded by Ra’s. That had been a good day.

“Simplest thing to do would be to use Trixx to create an illusion of me killing Fu. The more fun way would be to be more hands on and just use Trixx for things like blood. I have a feeling he would prefer the first.” Tris heard a snort of laughter from where Wonder Woman and her Nonna were standing but she couldn’t be certain which made the noise.

“I don’t see how this is necessary in the first place. With Hawkmoth defeated there’s no reason I have to stay in Paris. I can disappear just as well as you.” Tris wasn’t the only one who rolled her eyes at Fu’s statement.

“You won’t survive a week. You have no concept of the people you’re dealing with.” Gina’s tone was condescending and Tris could only nod her agreement. If anyone from the League came after him he was dead. Honestly if anyone with more than two brain cells came after him he was probably dead.

“And we won’t leave Tris.” Nooroo’s words caused Plagg and Duusu to fly up in front of her protectively as well. Tris had a feeling Tikki would have too if Chloe weren’t still transformed. “She needs us and we need her. You need her too but you won’t admit it until someone forces you to.”


	33. Confusion

The shock on Fu’s face when they claimed he needed her was rather amusing. She understood that he’d been alone most of his life but considering he was nearing the end of it she would have thought he’d at least considered the need to make sure both he and the Miraculous were taken care of. Apparently not enough.

“I will admit she has skills that would be useful but her overall mindset is skewed towards darkness and I can find others with a more suitable temperament.” Tris could only frown at him in thought. She didn’t think his assessment of her personality was right. She was realistic and perhaps cynical but claiming she held too much darkness seemed a rather simplistic concept. It also begged the question of what he considered darkness. She could only assume he was talking about her profession.

“Well it’s a good thing the Miraculous are about balance not your moral assumptions.” Tris winced at Plagg’s flippant tone. She knew the kwami were frustrated but calling him out was likely to make things worse. The concepts of good and evil people had tended to be very important to them, even if she didn’t understand why exactly. Most people considered killing evil, it was that simple. She’d tried once to understand why killing one person was evil but allowing someone to live and continue to kill others wasn’t. It still made no sense to her.

“Having that much power in your hands means you have to have a strong moral compass.” All the Kwami rolled their eyes and Tris decided to jump in before things could escalate.

“What makes you think I don’t?” Probably not the best distraction if the level look he shot at her was any indication.

“You kill people for money.” His tone said his point was obvious but she cocked her head in confusion.

“So do soldiers and most people consider them heroic. At least I try to minimize collateral damage.” Fu scowled at her while the other adults looked to be on the verge of laughter.

“It’s not the same thing.” His tone made it obvious he thought she was just arguing to argue, but she really had no idea why what she did was any different.

“Why?” She watched him open his mouth to respond but no words came out. She waited while he seemed to think about it.

“Because they’re following orders, you’re deciding everything on your own so there’s no one to stop you if you get out of hand.” Tris tried to follow his logic, she really did, but nothing about that made sense.

“So… what you’re saying is that soldiers have a better moral compass than me because they let the people in charge of them dictate their morals? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?” Gina burst out laughing and Wonder Woman looked close to joining her but Tris still had no clue why. Fu was still glaring at her but after a moment his expression changed. She wasn’t quite sure what to call it but it definitely became softer.

“I’m saying that having one person decide the fate of another is asking for trouble. At least in the military everything is supposed to go through channels so no one has complete power over the situation.” She felt her face scrunch up as she tried to make sense of that.

“So morals are only valid if other people have them too? Or is it that a group of people is more likely to do the right thing because they’re more morally conscious when they’re being watched? I guess that’s the whole point of government and religion, other than subjugating the masses of course.” The poor man looked like his brain had melted as the Kwami joined the two women in their laughter. “It’s not funny. I’m trying to understand and I don’t appreciate you all laughing at me.” They all sobered up quickly at that and Fu actually looked concerned now. The three Kwami flew over to cuddle into her while the adults looked like they were trying to figure out how to respond.

“They weren’t laughing at you Tris. You keep throwing logical arguments at a subject that isn’t really logical and they think it’s funny to watch Master Fu come up with responses.” Mme. Agreste’s tone was soft but sure and Tris watched the other’s nod in agreement.

“Oh.” She hesitated, knowing her next question was likely going to get the same response. “If it isn’t logical how do you determine its accuracy? I know morals tend to be subjective but some seem universal to a point.” All the adults shared looks but none seemed to have an answer for her.

“This is why she’ll make a good Guardian. Balance doesn’t care about right and wrong or good and evil. She can look at a situation and make a measured decision, rather than one only concerned with their concept of correct.” Nooroo sounded proud and she felt her face flush. It was things like this that normally made people upset with her so she wasn’t sure what to do with that kind of praise. Fu was back to frowning in thought but at least he wasn’t glaring at her anymore.

“I think this discussion can wait. We really need to get this fake killing over with and posted before the wrong people decide to come after either of us.” When all else fails, redirect. The mood lightened considerably as they set everything up. Trixx insisted that Gina should wield their Miraculous which caused another minor argument. Then they had to make sure that the illusions would show up on camera. Luckily they did or this would require a whole other set of props. Chloe and Adrien seemed a little disappointed that they didn’t get to go find fake weapons and blood to use but they got over it when she let them help plan the ‘murder’.


	34. Tris Can No Longer People

It took five hours to shoot the video. By the time it was over Tris was exhausted but she’d learned a few things. First, her Nonna and Trixx were a perfect match and should never, ever be left together without supervision. They’d somehow managed to set Fu on fire for real and both had found it hilarious. Second, the Agrestes and Chloe were completely useless for creating a realistic murder but were very good at coming up with things to amuse themselves and distract everyone else. Third, somehow in this dynamic she was the adult in the room.

Fu, Wonder Woman, and Gina were constantly getting into disagreements. Mostly over things that didn’t matter, at all. Tris had to refocus them every ten minutes and still ended up planning everything herself. The Kwami were just as bad. Plagg and Trixx kept tricking the others and pushing their buttons. At one point Duusu had a full on meltdown and Tris had to spend half an hour calming the Kwami down while Fu and Gina yelled at each other about whether or not she was responsible for controlling Trixx. Adrien and Chloe kept giving out useless suggestions but at least they weren’t causing problems. Mme. Agreste seemed unsure who’s side she should be on and kept changing her opinion on everything which just spurred the others on to get her to agree with them. By the time they were done Tris was ready to murder all of them or just leave and never look back.

“Where are you going?” Fu’s sharp tone was less annoying than the looks of disapproval she got from all the adults. Were they seriously going to pretend to be responsible now? She felt her eye twitch and only barely kept her temper in check.

“To sleep for a few hours then look through possible contracts and decide which will give the most exposure and seem the least connected with anyone or anything in Paris. The whole point of this is to keep people from looking for me here after all.” Her tone was flat and cold. It seemed to stun everyone in the room for a moment. Tris didn’t even have the energy to wonder why.

“I can help with that.” Gina’s tone was confident and held a hint of demand. Tris narrowed her eyes at the implication.

“I don’t need help. I’ve been choosing and planning my own missions for three years. The last thing I need is interference from someone with limited knowledge who thinks they know better just because they happen to be related to me.” She wanted the words back as soon as she heard them come out of her mouth. While it was true, the hurt look her Nonna gave her made her stomach clench. She couldn’t apologize though. It would be a sign of weakness she couldn’t afford to have the others see. She couldn’t afford for any of them to see her as less than a ruthless assassin right now. There was too much at stake.

“And why are you taking the Box?” Fu’s question was slightly less demanding but she still let out a frustrated breath. Tris really hated having to explain things. Especially things she knew didn’t make sense to other people.

“If I leave the box with you one of them will likely try to take it from your care.” She gestured to Gina and Wonder Woman. Both pretended to look affonted at the charge but she knew better. “I don’t have the time, energy, or patience to talk them out of it right now, so the box will stay with me until I’m certain no one will do anything foolish.” She really needed to sleep so she could get her bluntness under control. She was never good with people but at the moment she couldn’t even try to empathize with them.

“And where are you planning on taking it?” The question came from Wonder Woman and Tris could only shoot her a bland look. Was she an idiot or did she think Tris was? If she was afraid they’d go after Fu for it, what could possibly make the woman think that Tris would just tell them where she was going?

“I would like to know as well.”Tris just rolled her eyes at Fu.

“Why so they can torture you for the imformation? Honestly, I can’t tell if you want to die or if you’re just that oblivious.” Everyone was staring at her now. With the exception of her Nonna all their expressions held shock. Gina just looked thoughtful and Tris wasn’t sure if that was good or bad at this point. She really needed sleep. “Mme. Agreste, I’ll follow you and Adrien home so I can retrieve your Miraculous. Same for you Chloe.”

That started a whole new round of arguments. Wonder Woman was insisting that she take the box and all the Miraculous while Fu bristled at her for daring to infringe on his territory. Gina was trying to calm them down while Mme. Agreste, Adrien, and Chloe all pleaded with Tris to keep their Miraculous. She could feel a dull ache start up behind her eyes and knew she was headed towards a full blown migraine at this point. Great, one more thing she didn’t want to deal with. As everyone continued yelling she reached into her vest and began fingering a canister, wondering if it would work on Wonder Woman as well as everyone else. After a few minutes she decided it was worth the risk just to stop this nonsense.

She threw a flashbang first, just to make sure everyone was disoriented, then popped the top on the knockout gas. Her mask had a filtration system in it so she remained standing while everyone else fell to the floor. She let out a sigh of relief before collecting all the Miraculous, including Fu’s just because she knew he’d come after her otherwise. Now for the fun part.

“Was that really necessary?” Tikki sounded confused rather than accusatory and Tris gave her a tired smile.

“Probably not but I’ve reached my limit of dealing with people so this prevented me from stabbing anyone.” Nooroo let out a small giggle before he caught himself but Plagg just roared with laughter. Duusu and Tikki couldn’t seem to decide whether to be amused or horrified. “I’m going to use Kaalki to get everyone home or somewhere safe unless there are any objections?” The Kwami didn’t say anything so she took that as permission. She dropped the Agrestes and Chloe at their respective homes then dropped Fu at a safe house with a note explaining where he was and why. As for Gina and Wonder Woman, she just left them in slightly more comfortable positions in the warehouse. She thought about taking them to the bakery but in the end she didn’t know enough about their relationship with each other to chance it. Once that was taken care of, she made a portal to her dorm room. Fu might look for her there, or Chloe and Adrien might come back, but she knew the others would assume she left Paris entirely and that was what really mattered.


	35. The Next Job

Despite not getting to sleep until about four in the morning Tris was up again by seven looking through all her current job offers. There were always plenty to choose from so all she had to do was find one that matched up with her needs. First, it needed to be as far from Paris as possible. Second, it needed to be something she could do fast with minimal research. The point was to make people think she’d moved on after all so they wouldn’t come here to find her. Third, it needed to be something that she could make public and preferably brutal. Yes, the community would hear about it regardless, but she wanted them afraid to come after her. Leaving a few mutilated corpses would go a long way to discourage those that wanted to take out a legend.

By eight, she’d found the perfect target and sent an email to accept the job. She would be taking out a cartel leader in Brazil and the client wanted a message sent. There was even an offer of a bonus if she took out a couple of his lieutenants as well. Three to five bodies in a public forum with the amount of overkill completely up to her. This would overshadow everything that group of idiots had done to destroy her reputation. Now she just needed equipment. She called her normal supplier.

“Hey baby Death what’s happening?” Tris rolled her eyes at the nickname even though the person couldn’t see her.

“I take it you saw the garbage being posted on the darkweb then.” The other person let out a derisive snort.

“Please, how stupid do you think I am? You’ve been sending me your measurements for three years to make you custom gear. I’m well aware that you’re not an adult. I just hope for your sake you’ve still got a decent growth spurt in you because being that short all your life sucks.” That made Tris pause.

“So you’ve known all this time and you haven’t said anything?” Yes, discretion was necessary in this type of work. Just like her, no one knew Blake’s real identity. Backtracking shipments proved completely useless because they went through at least ten third parties before getting to their final destination. They used a voice changer anytime they spoke to someone so no one was even sure of age or gender. But Blake was the best and everyone knew it.

“Of course not.” They sounded insulted. “Oh and heads up, as soon as those idiots threw that information out there Talia and Deathstroke both contracted me for new weapons and asked about you. Make sure you watch yourself D, I’ve got to say I’d miss making all the insane shit you come up with.” Tris didn’t know whether to laugh or curse.

“Of course they did. If I place an order now how soon can you get it to Brazil?” There was a thoughtful hum on the line and Tris heard something in the background.

“For anyone else, two weeks. For you I can do it in three days if it’s not anything intricate. Two if it’s stuff you’ve already sent me plans for.” A relieved sigh escaped her. Knowing Talia was on her tail, she really needed to get moving. “Don’t worry D, I’ve got your back. Can’t lose one of my best customers now can I?”

“Thanks Blake, I owe you.”

———————————————————

After finishing with Blake Tris had gone back to sleep. She couldn’t arrive in Brazil too quickly since she’d just posted the video of Fu’s ‘murder’ a few hours ago. It would look far too suspicious if Talia ever did put the timeline together. She wasn’t worried about Deathstroke, he was rather easy to manipulate. It’s how she’d gotten the league to implode on itself in the first place. Talia was far less easy to handle and she’d rather not have that confrontation without a plan to take the other woman out permanently.

She woke up to yelling in the common area. Chloe mostly from the sounds of it. It sounded like all of their roommates were trying to calm her down and Tris heard her name more than once. She should probably go out there before the girl did something foolish. When she opened her door the others turned to her and there was dead silence.

“Did you need something?” Chloe and Adrien stared at her like she was an apparition while Luka and Kagami shared a shrug. Chloe unfroze first and ran to pull Tris into a crushing hug.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Tris wasn’t certain exactly what she was talking about but it wasn’t something everyone needed to hear.

“Why don’t we talk in my room?” Chloe leaned back to glare at her but seemed to have calmed down enough to think things through.

“Fine. Adrien, come on.” She sounded pissed. Tris probably would be too if she’d been drugged like that but it’s not like she’d just left them in the warehouse. She’d taken them home so they’d wake up in familiar surroundings. There really wasn’t any reason for her to be so upset. Once the door was closed Chloe unleashed her anger.

“What is wrong with you? We thought you were gone for good.” Tris just frowned at her, trying to understand why that was an issue.

“That was the point. Specifically, I need the adults to think I’ve taken off for good so they don’t lead others straight to me.” Chloe and Adrien knowing she was still here would be fine because it wouldn’t change their routine. If her Nonna or Wonder Woman started showing up at the school it would be a blaring sign that something was going on. It was attention she couldn’t afford.

“You could have at least texted us to let us know you were okay!” Chloe was getting louder again and Tris wasn’t sure why. She really needed a better grasp of teenage behavior.

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Chloe looked like she was about to explode so Adrien took over.

“We woke up and our last memory was being in that warehouse. We didn’t know what had happened to you.” Tris frowned at them both in confusion.

“I can take care of myself. I thought that would have been clear by now.” They were both looking at her like she was an alien species again. Why did people look at her like that when they were the ones being irrational?

“We were still worried!” Chloe’s tone seemed to imply that she should understand but Tris didn’t. If they knew she could handle herself why would they worry?

“Tris, it’s nothing to do with your skills. When people can’t get in touch with someone they tend to imagine the worst case scenario.” That… sort of made sense.

“So you want me to apologize because you can’t control your imaginations?” Neither one seemed to know how to respond. Chloe opened her mouth a couple times but never managed any words and Adrien just kept blinking at her. People were so strange.


	36. Chapter 36

“Fine. Would you tell us what you’re planning then?” Adrien’s voice was pleading and she didn’t understand why until she looked at Chloe. The girl was still obviously distraught. Tris just frowned at them both.

“Telling you puts us all in more danger. It’s best that you don’t know of my actions, especially beforehand. I’m going to do what I need to to keep the Miraculous and all of you safe. That’s really all you need to know.”

“Maybe we could help if you’d let us.” Chloe’s mumbled words sounded petulant and Tris just sighed.

“Chloe, I’m an assassin. Not only is helping me in any way illegal, I’m not about to pull anyone else into that life. Certainly not either of you. If I learn anything that affects you or your safety I’ll tell you. Otherwise it’s best you two pretend that yesterday never happened.” Their shared look told her that wasn’t likely to happen but hopefully they would just keep it between them.

“Fine. But if anything happens to you I’ll kill you myself.” Tris felt a smile tug at her lips at Chloe’s declaration. “If you’re not doing anything we’re going to have a movie and snack marathon the rest of the day. You should join so you can get part of the real ‘teenage experience.’” Adrien was bouncing excitedly beside her and even Chloe seemed happy with the thought for all she was mocking it. Tris thought about it for a moment. All her preparation was in motion and she didn’t have to check on anything, so why not?

“Okay, but only if I can use my own snacks. The ones you guys have have zero nutritional value and honestly just make me nauseous if I eat more than a little bit.” Adrien gasped in mock offense but Chloe just rolled her eyes.

“They’re not supposed to have nutritional value. That’s the point. But if it will get you out there on that couch with us, fine. Bring your protein bars or whatever other horrible tasting crap you have in here.” All of them had been making fun of her diet since the day she got there. It was carefully constructed to give her the nutrients and energy she needed to train and do her job. Taste wasn’t a factor and they seemed to take issue with it. It was kind of like them always asking her what she wanted. She didn’t understand why it mattered. Before she could respond however the two grabbed her arms and hulled her out into the living room with them.

“Movie night! Luka gets to pick since it’s Tris’s first time. Otherwise we’ll spend the entire night arguing over what to watch.” Chloe’s brusk words earned a raised eyebrow from Kagami but Luka just smiled and shrugged.

“Sure Chloe. So Tris what kind of movies do you like?“

"Don’t know. I haven’t watched any since I was seven, and I don’t remember much about those.” And there was the pity and horror again. Everyone except Kagami was looking at her like she’d been deprived of one of life’s basic necessities. It was going to be a long night.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Three hours and two movies later, Tris was wedged between Chloe and Kagami, Luka was on Chloe’s other side, and Adrien was sprawled across everyone’s laps.

“I still don’t understand the point of this. It’s not educational in any way, and it didn’t even make sense most of the time.” Luka and Adrien both looked highly offended.

“It’s entertainment! It’s not supposed to be educational because it’s how you destress. It’s just supposed to be fun.” Tris frowned at Adrien and would have argued with him but Kagami leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“I agree with you but the more you fight them on this the more of your time they’ll take up trying to prove their point. Better one night every few weeks than one movie every night until they decide you get it.” Tris shot the girl a consoling look. Every night? She was already bored out of her mind so if this became a daily occurrence chances were high someone would get stabbed.

“I guess these just weren’t my type of movie then.” The other three started making suggestions of different types of movie they could try next and Tris realized that probably wasn’t the best response.

“How about a compromise?” Kagami’s calm voice managed to make the others pause. “You three can watch for entertainment and Tris and I can critique the lack of realism and blatant factual errors. That way we all enjoy ourselves.” The boys looked absolutely betrayed but Chloe just shrugged.

“Only if you do it quietly so you don’t ruin it for the rest of us.” She stuck out a hand to shake and Kagami took it.

“Deal.”

“I can’t believe you don’t like movies. What is wrong with you two?” Kagami just shrugged at Adrien’s hurt tone.

“Escapism was highly discouraged when I was young. You have to deal with life and there’s no point putting it off with mindless drivel. All that does is waste time.” Tris was nodding along to the explanation. Using such methods to ignore your problems simply created more problems. She didn’t understand why everyone found that concept so hard to grasp.

“You’re both missing out. If you can’t enjoy life, what’s the point of living?” Luka’s question caused Tris to frown. There were millions of people around the world who didn’t enjoy life but still managed to be productive. Besides, once you’ve seen the worst of humanity and suffering, it seemed wrong to enjoy something that so many others can’t. She also didn’t deserve to enjoy life after everything she’d done, but that was another matter entirely.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for Gore. It's not overly descriptive but it may make some people uncomfortable.

Tris had been stalking her primary target for hours. She made sure he knew she was there. He never caught a glimpse of her but every once in a while she’d knock something over or bounce a rock off a building or a pipe. By the time he made it to the warehouse he was currently holed up in he’d called in an impressive amount of reinforcements, including all his top lieutenants. It was almost too easy if she was being honest. She went up on the roof and pulled out some of the new toys she’d contracted from Blake.

The first was a group of mini drones. These were something they’d been working on for months to try and get them silent. They were meant to land on your target and inject them with a drug or compound of your choice. These were set up with a neurotoxin that caused immediate but temporary paralysis. She used them to take out the sentries and could hear the panic coming from inside as they tried to barricade the doors and windows.

The second item was quickly attached to the ventilation system. This device worked to quickly fill the entire building with a colorless and odorless gas to knock everyone out. It wasn’t very sporting, but it was highly efficient. The people inside started dropping and those that could think at all were trying to get out of the exits they’d already closed off. She waited for all sound to stop before entering the building.

As she worked it felt… strange. She didn’t know why. Sure this job was far more theatrical than she was normally but she didn’t think that was it. It wasn’t until she finished and was sending pictures of her handiwork to various news outlets that she realized it was because she knew she’d see the reactions of the people around her. People who knew that she was the one who did it. It caused her to hesitate, but only for a moment. She was doing this to protect them. If they didn’t understand or approve of that, so be it.

—————————————————

“Tris, can we talk to you?” Adrien and Chloe both looked like they were about to pass out. She’d been waiting for this confrontation since her last job made international news. It was exactly the type of story to take off everywhere. Granted she hadn’t expected some of the more… explicit pictures to go viral the way they had. She didn’t understand people’s fascination with gore.

“Sure.” She put the text book she was reading aside as Chloe closed and locked the door. They were both fidgeting and standing as far away from her as the room allowed. “If you’re no longer comfortable with me here I can leave.”

“No! We want you to stay…” Chloe’s tone was less than convincing and Adrien honestly looked like he was considering the possibility. “We just… Well, I at least want to try and understand why you did this.” Chloe turned her tablet around so Tris could see it and she sighed. She still couldn’t believe that was the most used picture. Well, she supposed she could, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.

She’d ended up killing the cartel leader and twelve of his lieutenants. Given how religious and superstitious people in that region were it was bound to cause a fuss. That wouldn’t have been enough to get the word out though so she’d gone a few steps further to make sure the message was clear to everyone who needed to receive it. This picture was of thirteen heads lined up on a table in front of the wall where she’d written ‘The Angel of Death is Watching’ in huge letters with her target’s blood. Far too over the top for her tastes, but it would back off most other assassins or bounty hunters.

“It was necessary.” They were both just staring at her like she was insane. Adrien blew up first.

“How could that possibly be necessary? No one deserves that.” She wasn’t certain what her expression was but he paled dramatically.

“I’m glad that you don’t know enough about what goes on in the world to believe that’s true. I however am not that naive. Each of those men killed countless innocent people. I don’t expect you to understand when you’ve never stood over a mass grave filled with the bodies of men and children because they took the women to use for their own amusement. Those bodies would be found littering the roads as the cartel got tired of them or they became sick. I don’t expect you to understand that doing what I do will save hundreds of lives, including yours. Honestly I hope you never understand it, but I am not fortunate enough to live in your world. What I did was necessary to keep all of you and the Miraculous safe. And that is all you need to be concerned with.”

Neither one seemed to be able to respond. She had a feeling they’d expected, or hoped at least, that she would tell them it was all staged or something. It seemed incredibly hard for people to believe that what she did was real. That there were actual people behind such acts. Civilians prefered to believe in monsters but there was no such thing. It was a good thing too in her mind, since people were capable of more than enough depravity on their own. Chloe recovered first.

“Could you… could you explain why you decided this was necessary?” For all she looked like she wanted to throw up Chloe genuinely sounded like she wanted to understand. Tris frowned as she tried to figure out how to explain. She’d been in this world so long, most things she did on instinct rather than actively thinking about it. Trying to find words that would make sense to people who had been raised so differently was challenging.

“When Fu told those worthless wanna be assassins my age, it put a target on my back. I needed to do something big to make sure everyone knows that coming after me is a bad idea.”

“I thought that’s why you killed those assassins. And why we staged killing Master Fu.” Adrien’s obvious confusion caused her to let out a frustrated breath. She needed to simplify things more.

“No. That was to let everyone know what happens to those who tarnish my reputation. Unfortunately no one in my world would have had an issue taking them out so it won’t deter anyone from coming after me since that took little to no skill to accomplish. I needed to go after a target that others were afraid to. I needed to make it huge so that they think twice before trying to find me. And I needed to do it far from Paris so no one thinks I’ve settled in one place. That cartel leader is someone people in my world steer clear of. By doing that to him and all his top people it will make them cautions. I’ve never done anything that theatrical, and I’ve never left my name on something. It will give the impression that I’m pissed off and daring them to come after me. Only the most idiotic or egotistical will take that challenge. Neither is likely to be able to track me down.” Between her own training and Blake’s gadgets someone would have to know her personally to find her. The only reason she was worried about Talia was because she might actually look in Paris. No one else had any idea she was connected to the city.

“It just seems like a lot.” Tris could only shrug. They wouldn’t fully understand unless they had their lives and their innocence destroyed the way she had. And that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.


	38. Chapter 38

“I would like to formally request that you train me to fight.” Tris looked up in confusion to find Kagami standing in her doorway. The girl seemed serious and she didn’t usually make jokes; it was one of the reasons Tris actually liked her. At the same time, it didn’t really make sense.

“You’re being trained in fencing and two forms of martial arts. I’m sure your skill is already adequate.” Kagami’s hand twitched slightly towards her neck and Tris realized what brought this on. They’d been attacked, almost two weeks ago, and Kagami hadn’t been able to put up much of a fight. “You were caught off guard, training how to fight and reacting to real life situations can be very different things.” The girl just scowled at her.

“You were caught off guard as well yet while I was useless and couldn’t even defend myself you knocked out both attackers and saved me.” Tris sighed as she tried to come up with an explanation that wasn’t the truth. Partially because it would be safer for Kagami if she didn’t know but also because she didn’t want another person here acting like she was a bomb ready to go off. Adrien and Chloe both tried to hide it but ever since Brazil they’d been treating her differently. Whenever The Angel of Death was mentioned in the news they’d be whispering in corners and walking on eggshells for days after and this had been going on for close to four months now. Tris didn’t want to admit it, but it was driving her insane. She now had an almost constant urge to sneak up behind one or both of them and shout ‘Boo!” and she had no idea where the impulse was coming from.

“You know how I told you that Chloe used to bully me?” Kagami nodded and Tris decided half truths were her best option. “Well there were a lot of people that used to bully me, and many of them were a lot more physical. I learned to fight by being attacked and I learned to survive by being able to find and utilize my opponents weaknesses quickly. It’s not about being well trained or knowing the proper forms. It’s about seeing an opening and taking it no matter what it is and no matter what you have to do.” That was true enough. In the league Talia had believed in a trial by fire method of training for her. Just like that first fight with Damian she’d always just been thrown into situations and forced to react.

“That does not seem… fair.” Tris actually snorted with derision and Kagami eyed her warily. “I just mean that it doesn’t seem very sporting.”

“There are no rules in real life. All that matters is doing what it takes to survive. Honor is meaningless to the dead.” Kagami just stood there frowning at the floor and Tris waited for another lecture. She didn’t get one.

“Then I want you to teach me that.”

——————————————————————————-

That was how they ended up in the lobby of the Grand Paris the next weekend. Tris was trying to teach Kagami how to spot physical infirmities and weaknesses to exploit by pointing out different gaits or even the way a person held themselves. Luka, Adrien, and Chloe had all decided to tag along but she wasn’t sure why. When she asked they just said the two of them shouldn’t be left alone together.

Tris was in the middle of pointing out a gentleman who had obviously suffered a recent back sprain when the boy next to him drew her attention. The smug, superior way he held himself, the walk that said ‘get out of my way or I’ll go through you’, the way he seemed to look down on everyone and everything around him… she knew that pose. She knew that boy. Before she was even aware of her intentions she was stalking over to the duo as the others called after her. As she got closer he turned to look at her with that same haughty expression and she felt rage consume her. His expression showed recognition and shock for only a moment before her fist made contact with his nose. Her knee went to his stomach a moment later and he was on the floor.

“You’re supposed to be dead!” She only vaguely realized she was screaming at him in Arabic, too consumed by fear, anger, and pain to process much else. She watched as Damian rose from the floor and glared at her.

“I was.” That was it. Tris felt the sneer on her face but didn’t have time to wonder at the uncharacteristic reaction.

“I should have known you’d follow in your grandfather’s footsteps. I’ll only say this once so I suggest you listen. If you, your mother, or any of the degenerates who still follow you try to come after me they will be finding pieces of you for decades. And don’t think for a second that you know me or my skills well enough to stop me.” His expression flashed to annoyance for just a moment but it was enough for her to prepare. When his hand shot out to grab her neck he only caught air as she stepped in to trip him. She had to fight down a smug smile at his obvious confusion when she pinned him to the floor. “I know your fighting style better than you do al Ghul. Consider this a warning.”

“M. Wayne I am so sorry! Chloe get this hoodlum out of here!” Tris was finally brought back to her surroundings by the Mayor’s voice. Shit. What had she just done? Damian hadn’t even seen her, let alone figured out who she was, what the hell had possessed her to out herself like this? When she released him, Damian just got up and dusted himself off.

“It’s fine Sir. We’re old friends, though I’m sure it was a strange greeting to witness.” Damian never took his eyes off her as he spoke and she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at him. The boy was still bleeding from her first punch and he expected that to explain things.

“Oh well… if that’s all then… are you sure you don’t want me to at least call the Police to file a report?” The man he was with must be extremely wealthy for the Mayor to be falling over himself like this. What had he called him.. Wayne? She finally looked at the man’s face and realized exactly how screwed she was. How could Talia possibly have formed an alliance with the owner of Wayne Enterprises? With those resources at her disposal there was no telling what she was capable of.

“Everything is perfectly alright Mayor. My son is simply a little rambunctious; it’s nice to see someone who can take him down a peg or two.” Son? Only her luck could possibly be this bad. He switched to Arabic to address her. “I’d very much like to continue this discussion. Perhaps in private?”


	39. Chapter 39

“I believe I’ve made myself quite clear sir.” Tris responded calmly, but inside she was cursing and calling herself every word she could come up with for ‘idiot’ or worse. Not only had she endangered herself in one moment of rage, she’d endangered the Kwami and the people who thought of her as a friend. She needed to get them all away and prepare them for the League to descend on Paris. There was no way word wouldn’t get back to Talia now and everyone who knew her was in danger. What the hell was wrong with her?

“I suppose you have, but I still think we should talk. You seem to be under the impression that Damian is still in contact with, or even connected to Talia, but I can assure you he’s not. I would also like to know what the connection between you two is.” Tris finally took the time to look at Damian’s threads. There was a dark purple thread connecting him to Mr. Wayne and various others, some lighter, going off in one direction. The anger she felt at that surprised her but considering he was the reason she only had one familial connection it annoyed her that he got to have those relationships. Maybe it was petty, but she couldn’t help it at the moment. What really caught her attention was the inky black thread that was running in the same direction as her own. She had to wonder what had caused Talia to turn on her precious son.

“We’re soulmates.” Tris glared at Damian’s bored tone in response to his father. He’d always put on an apathetic front about their string that annoyed her to no end. 

“We were soulmates. That bond was severed and luckily for me it shows no signs of reforming.” She saw something flash in his eyes but it was too fast to get a good read on it. His father looked like he’d just been slapped. For her part she was doing her best not to look at the string between them. It was a rather nauseating greenish orange which was bad enough, but it was also pulsing in a way that left her with a sense of dread.

“Damian has changed a lot in the last few years, perhaps if you two got to know each other again your bond would have a chance to come back.” She couldn’t help the wan look she shot at the man. In any other case perhaps a red string was something to be cherished and protected. In this instance it absolutely wasn’t.

“Sir, being connected to your son destroyed my life in a way I’ll never be able to recover from. I’m not insane or stupid enough to invite that influence back in to see how much worse things can get.” The man looked like he wanted to argue further but Damian put a hand on his arm.

“She’s right. Our bond began weakening the moment we met. My death simply allowed the universe to correct a mistake.” His tone was… strange. The Damian she remembered would have been smug because he was no longer connected to a worthless burden like her, but now… from anyone else she’d call it wistful. It didn’t make any sense. She finally looked at the people around them and noted the mass confusion. They’d held the entire conversation in Arabic and she was glad for it. She was going to get interrogated regardless, but she’d rather not give them too much information. Mr. Wayne was looking between her and Damian obviously trying to decide if he should push the issue. Eventually he just sighed, pulled out a business card, and held it out to her. Tris just blinked at him.

“In case you ever change your mind, or if you need anything.”

“I won’t.” The man pinched the bridge of his nose before glaring at her.

“Just take it to make me feel better.” She looked at Damian to get a better idea of what his intentions were but he just looked amused.

“I assure you that I can find your information on my own should I require it. I don’t understand why giving me a piece of cardstock makes you feel better.” Domain actually coughed to cover a laugh and it stunned her for a moment. She’d never seen him show things so openly. It was creepy.

“None of these numbers are publicly available and I would feel better knowing you have them should you need help. Especially with Talia currently in the wind.” So he was trying to monitor her movements. That was something to look into later.

“She’s in Norway for the next few days, then likely will be heading to the Congo.” Once Tris realized the woman was looking for the Angel of Death she’d started taking jobs in the most random pattern she could manage. It was rather amusing watching the woman chase her trail. Both Damian and his father were looking at her like she’d grown a second head. “That woman already ruined my life once, I’m not about to let her sneak up on me to do that or worse again. I assure you I’m prepared for most scenarios, and if it’s something I’m not prepared for chances are high I wouldn’t be able to contact you anyway. They’re pretty much zero that you’d get to me in time to help even if you could.”

“You may as well just take it. If you don’t he’ll start monitoring your movements as well and I’m sure you don’t want that.” She let out an involuntary scoff at Damian’s assumption they’d be able to monitor her. Even without the Kwami to help, they’d only see what she allowed.

“You can try, but unlike you I haven’t been living the high life the past three years. I’ve been on my own evading your mother and everyone else in the League who thought it was a good idea to use me to get at you. I don’t care how good you think you are, you don’t stand a chance of following me if I don’t let you.” She couldn’t help the bitterness in her tone. The look of shock on Damian’s face that said he hadn’t even considered what her life had been like didn’t help her mood at all.


	40. Chapter 40

“I assumed you would have gone back to your family.” Tris could tell that Damian realized how stupid that idea was the moment it left his mouth, but she felt the need to emphasize exactly how stupid.

“Would that be the parents that your mother murdered in front of me or are you just assuming there are others?” She was certain Damian had never bothered to look up her identity. That night she became nothing more than his soulmate so who she had been was of absolutely no concern to him. She’d been monitoring everything connected to her real identity since she’d left the league as well and there were no hits other than her Nonna and occasionally the Paris police. Mr. Wayne paled at her response but she didn’t have the energy to worry about that. “Regardless, what makes you think I’d be stupid or selfish enough to endanger people simply because they happen to be related to me?”

“You’re endangering them.” He gestured to the others and she felt a wave of guilt hit her. She couldn’t let him see it though so instead she just rolled her eyes.

“They’re part of my cover here genius. They don’t know anything and even Talia doesn’t go around killing random civilians who have no idea who they’ve been keeping company with.” She needed him to believe that because he was right. Adrien and Chloe both knew too much and if that came out Luka and Kagami would be in the firing line as well because it would be assumed they knew more than they did. How had she let this happen?

“Wait, back up. Talia killed your parents?” Mr. Wayne had finally recovered and she couldn’t quite place his tone. There was obvious anger but there was something else under that.

“She wanted any ties with my former life severed. Partly, to make it clear there was nowhere to run, but mostly because she felt it was an insult to her precious son that I had strings connected to such unworthy people.” Talia had enjoyed telling her all about her thought process, and why her being the child of peasants made her so unworthy. Damian was frowning at her. Apparently his mother hadn’t told him that. Mr. Wayne shoved his card into her hands.

“Take it. If you need anything, you can contact me. And please don’t go after Talia by yourself.” She could only frown at him in confusion.

“I have absolutely no intention of going near that woman. Granted if she comes after me all bets are off, but there’s no point in my seeking her out.” That just seemed to confuse him.

“Don’t you want to make her pay for what she did to you?” Tris just shrugged, but then a thought occurred to her and she couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t need to. Besides, she apparently lost Damian and given that most of her future places rested on him, I’m sure she’s suffering plenty as it is. Killing her at this point would actually be counterproductive if revenge were my goal.”

“She’s not wrong.” Damian looked like he was trying not to smirk and she had to wonder, again, what could have turned them into enemies. It was one more thing she was going to have to research. 

“Now if you don’t mind, this is already going to be hard to explain and I see no need for further discussion so goodbye.” She turned and started walking towards the lobby doors before they had a chance to respond. She was halfway down the block before the others caught up with her.

“What the hell was that about?” Chloe sounded annoyed, but Tris knew it was because she was confused. Not that it mattered, by the end of the day they’d all be upset with her if they were at all sane.

“My past coming back to haunt me. We need to go back to the dorm and prepare.” The Miraculous would help, but honestly Kagami was the only one with anything resembling combat knowledge and it wasn’t practical. Maybe she should go after Talia just to avoid a confrontation here.

“Prepare for what exactly?” Adrien sounded like he didn’t want the answer and she couldn’t blame him.

“Invasion.” They all looked at her like she was insane, but they had no idea what she knew. Chances of Talia coming here alone were good given what she thought of Tris’s skills, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility that she’d bring other assassins. There were so many things she had to try and plan for along with training all of them. Tris had a feeling sleep was about to be a fond memory.

“How do you know Damian Wayne?” Chloe’s question caused her to blow out a frustrated breath. She was going to have to tell them so they understood exactly what was going on, but that meant not only talking about her secrets, but Damian’s too. It didn’t sit well with her, no matter what had happened between them. Maybe by the time they reached the dorm she could come up with something. Maybe.

“Not here.” They all exchanged looks, but no one talked after that. Tris took the opportunity to berate herself internally for letting any of this happen in the first place.


	41. Chapter 41

“So are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?” Chloe’s bruskness was hiding fear. As far as Tris was concerned that was a good thing. Rather than say anything she handed Chloe Tikki’s earrings then gave Adrien Plagg’s ring. They looked at the Miraculous in shock for a moment before sharing a look.

“It’s that bad?” Adrien sounded hesitant and Luka and Kagami just looked confused.

“It’s worse.” She turned her attention to Luka and Kagami. The Kwami said she had good instincts, now was the time to prove it. Luka was quiet but he saw far more than people thought. He could read people and situations better than any civilian she’d ever met. Kagami was harder to describe. On the outside she was calm and collected, cold even. But Tris knew there was far more underneath that no one ever saw. Finding a match was… difficult.

“Longg or Roaar will work well with her.”

“What is that?” Kagami and Luka were staring over her left shoulder where Nooroo’s voice had come from.

“I think Longg is more versatile. What do you think about Sass for Luka?” Nooroo gave an approving hum.

“They’re very well suited. Though I don’t think the Guardian will approve.” Tris just let out an annoyed sigh.

“Given that he put this entire chain of events into motion when he enrolled me here I’m not inclined to care.” Fu was by far the least of her problems. Getting these four ready for a confrontation with the League of Assassins was the only real priority. That or hiding them.

“Seriously, what is that? And what are you talking about?” Kagami sounded slightly annoyed but it was still mostly confusion.

“This is Nooroo. They’re a Kwami which are what power the Miraculous.”

“Miraculous? As in Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Yes. Nooroo inhabits the Butterfly Miraculous, which is the one Hawkmoth was abusing for power.” Kagami frowned at the Kwami causing them to burrow into Tris’s neck.

“That creature caused all that damage?”

“No, my father caused that damage. Nooroo had no say or control in the matter.” Tris frowned at Adrien but realized neither Kagami or Luka looked surprised.

“You told them?” It was not something she understood. Information that could be used against you should never be given voluntarily.

“Only about my father. They’re my friends and they knew I was far more upset than I should have been about his death, especially since it gave me my mother back.” Tris just wrinkled her nose in annoyance. Not at him but herself. She still didn’t understand how people could let their guard down at all, let alone be so transparent that the people around them could read them that well. For her that was a death sentence.

“Well I suppose it’s a moot point now anyway. We have far bigger problems to worry about, and for that I’m truly sorry.” Those words didn’t seem like nearly enough.

“Tris what’s going on?” The question came from Luka and her guilt multiplied. Of all of them he was the least equipped to deal with this, and if she was being honest, the most innocent.

“There is a very high probability that people will be coming after me. You could all be in danger so I need to either teach you to defend yourselves or make you disappear.” They all just stared at her. Too blunt?

“What do you mean by disappear?” Adrien actually sounded scared and it took her a minute to realize he was scared of her. It wasn’t surprising but it hurt for some reason.

“New identities, relocation. I can make sure you and your families are moved somewhere safe.” There was complete silence but she refused to look at them. She wasn’t entirely certain why but she didn’t want to see their reactions.

“I already asked you to teach me to fight once, I’m certainly not going to turn down the opportunity now.” When Tris looked up she expected amusement or excitement in Kagami’s expression but all she saw was determination.

“Are you going to tell them what you are and what they’re up against? Or were you just planning on making them decide without all the relevant information?” Adrien’s hostile tone was strange. It didn’t suit him at all. She thought it was because he was worried though because the string between them was still green.

“I will tell what I can, but at the same time it’s best if no one person has too much information. There is far more at stake here than any of you realize. Honestly it would probably be better for everyone if I just confronted my past and let it kill me. At least then the world would return to its normal state.” Tris had been running and surviving for so long she didn’t have any other function anymore. She didn’t even consider the possibility of going after Talia to end this that way, but it did make the most sense if she wanted to keep them and the Miraculous safe.

“No, absolutely not, I won’t allow it.” Tris just frowned at Chloe in confusion.

“There’s nothing you could do to stop me and it would be the safest option.”

“You dying is the safe option? What kind of nonsense is that? No, that’s not happening. We’ll learn to fight or hide or whatever we need to but I’m not going to stand by and let you sacrifice yourself for no reason.” She sounded near hysterical and Tris couldn’t understand why. It was simple really. If Talia didn’t come looking for her, none of them would be in any danger. Then Luka spoke up.

“Chloe’s right. As long as there are other options you getting killed is out of the question. I may not know what’s going on but I do know that if you’re willing to sacrifice yourself to protect us the least we can do is learn to protect ourselves.”


	42. Chapter 42

Tris felt her eye twitch as Adrien and Luka collided mid air… again. Chloe was off to the side laughing while Kagami was fighting a smile. None of them were taking this seriously enough. Telling them their lives were in danger only went so far. None of them really felt the fear they needed to. It had been over a week since she started training with and without the Miraculous. Even though there was no hope of any of them surviving against the most junior member of the League without she was hoping it would help while they were transformed. At this point the only reason they’d survive is because the Miraculous made it near impossible to be hurt by normal weapons. The biggest thing she worried about was explosives. The Kwami hadn’t dealt with them enough to know what the suit’s threshold would be. She’d also had them turn all the miraculous into toe rings since it was the least obvious and hardest place to get to while they were transformed.

“You’re not even trying anymore, we’re done for the night.” She tried to keep her temper in check and not let them see how frustrated she was getting but it was difficult. Telling herself they were civilians and couldn’t grasp the danger they were in only went so far before she felt like she was about to explode.

“Oh come on, we’re just messing around.” She had to take a deep breath in order not to yell at Adrien. He didn’t know any better.

“That’s entirely my point. The Miraculous aren’t toys and there’s no point straining the Kwami so you can play. This isn’t a game and I’m tired of trying to convince you of that.” Tris saw strings moving that were connected to her and froze as she took in her surroundings. They were gray but with a green-blue tinge to them but she had no idea who they belonged to. This was bad.

“Oh come on! You’re not even paying attention to me.” Adrien had been talking but she’d stopped listening to try and track the strings movements. They were only connected to her, not the others. That couldn’t be a good thing. Now the others were taking turns trying to defend their actions, well not Kagami but everyone else. One of the strings moved behind Adrien and she lunged.

“What is wrong with you?” Chloe’s enraged shout was followed by stunned silence when Tris pulled a man in his mid twenties out of the shadows. He looked just as surprised as everyone else.

“Come out or your partner dies.” The man she was holding started sputtering gibberish, but the other string started to move. Another man, a brother by the looks of it, stepped into the light.

“Calm down baby death, we’re here to help.” She just scowled at him. No one called her that except…

“Which one of you is Blake?” The Miraculous holders just looked confused while the man she was holding looked impressed. The one across the room just laughed.

“Both of us, well all three of us actually. Going by one code name helps keep everyone guessing. Granted you deal exclusively with our baby sister. Once she figured out you were still a kid she refused to let us near any of your projects.” He sounded rather put out but Tris was just trying to follow his explanation.

“And why would she do that?” The man she was holding gave an annoyed snort.

“She thinks we’re not detail oriented enough. Load of crap if you ask me.” The other one rolled his eyes.

“Couldn’t have anything to do with the time one of your devices blew up the person using it. Obviously, she’s just overreacting. What pisses me off is that your bad behavior got both of us banned from the cool projects.” She was getting a headache again. She sighed and looked at the still speechless holders.

“You all go home. I’ll take care of this.” They all looked like the wanted to argue and her temper finally gave out. “Leave now! Or you’ll all find yourselves relocated to somewhere insanely remote so I don’t have to worry about you following orders.” That at least got them moving, even if she was certain they would all get mad at her about it later.

“Bit harsh don’t you think?” She just glared at the man she was holding before throwing him at his partner. Their expression as they hit the ground would have been entertaining if she weren’t so pissed off.

“You’ve got one minute to tell me why you’re here and how you found me before you find out exactly how I got my moniker.” They both started talking over each other and Tris couldn’t understand a word they said. Why was this her life?

“Will you two morons shut up! Hold up your phone so I can talk to her.” The voice was female and the older one fished his phone out of his vest and turned it towards her. “Sorry about them. I would have come myself but I don’t leave the workshop, ever. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“I still need my questions answered.” The woman’s lips quirked up in a small smile before she answered.

“How we found you is simple. All of our products have homing devices so we can destroy or retrieve them to keep them out of improper hands. We normally don’t use them unless we have reason to believe they’ve been compromised but I’ll admit I’ve been keeping an eye on you for about a year and a half. The why is a bit more complicated.” Tris wanted so badly to just explode. Why did everyone think she was incompetent? She forced it down though. She needed to know what the hell was going on.

“I’m waiting.” She could hear the annoyance in her own voice and cursed at herself mentally. You don’t give people ammunition to use against you like that. The woman’s gaze softened.

“I really am sorry about this. I wasn’t trying to meddle but we got a call from another client asking us to help you. Well, sort of.” Tris just motioned her to keep going. There was no point in interrupting now. “The mini al Ghul called us in a panic saying that there was someone in Paris that he needed full gear for. When he gave sizes I realized it had to be you. He doesn’t know you’re the Angel of Death I take it?”

“No he doesn’t and I’d rather keep it that way.” She just nodded.

“I figured as much. I told him I’d get in contact with you since he didn’t have any real information on your location other than in Paris. He offered to pay for anything you need too. I’d definitely take him up on that. The boy’s got some deep pockets.”

“I don’t need his money and I certainly don’t need him thinking I owe him anything. That still doesn’t explain why you sent them in person.” Both men flinched when she gestured at them. It was honestly gratifying at this point. The woman let out a sigh.

“You’re not the only one I’ve been tracking. Talia is making a bee line for Paris. I know you can handle yourself but given you’ve never stayed in one place this long I thought you might want help protecting the reason you’re there. The boys are idiots a lot of the time but they do know how to fight. They also have the ability to detonate half of Talia’s equipment.” Okay that was tempting.

“And what are you charging for this service? Pissing off Talia is a death sentence, you can’t expect me to believe you’re doing this out of the kindness of your hearts.” Both men’s expressions hardened into glares and the woman gave her a tight smile.

“You’re not the only one who’s had their life destroyed by that harpy. Paybacks a bitch and today that bitch is me.” Well at least that was a motive Tris understood.


	43. Chapter 43

“We’re screwed.” Tris could only sigh. She was watching the Miraculous users get tossed around by the Blake boys while their sister commented from a tablet. She couldn’t disagree with the assessment.

“They can’t be harmed by normal weapons so at least they won’t get hurt easily. It’s not something I want to do but if Talia’s not alone they’ll be good as distractions.” The oldest Blake threw Chloe into Luka while the other sent Adrien into a wall while fending off Kagami. She was the only one who could hold her own at all. She hoped they’d never get near Talia or any of the League, but she couldn’t chance them being unprepared.

“I know you don’t want to involve anyone else but it might be helpful to bring in an expert. The person who trained us is great with beginners, gets them trained fast, and is very discrete. None of us have the experience to help them properly.” As much as she agreed with the last part, too many people already knew about the Miraculous. “I can get a hold of her if you want, or you may actually have heard of her. Gina Dupain.”

“No.” Tris could practically feel her blood pressure rising. She wasn’t about to bring her Nonna back into this after she’d managed to get her out of the line of fire. It was bad enough that her error in judgement in staying in Paris had put the others in danger. The youngest Blake let out a sigh from the screen.

“I get it. I also have some possibly good news. Well, good for you anyway.” That sounded somewhat ominous.

“Good for me how?”

“Given the timeline, it’s possible Talia’s coming here for her son, not you. As far as we can tell she was still tracking you by your jobs and only changed course when the mini al Ghul hit Paris.” Tris wasn’t sure what to think of that. Yes it meant that they were safe but given the string between Talia and Damian he was in mortal danger. She shouldn’t care about that.

“Have you told him that yet?” He and his father hadn’t been able to track her reliably before, there was no reason to think they’d managed it now.

“I did. He’s refusing to leave, even after I told him that it would help us figure out which one of you she was after. That boy seems to think he’s the only one who can save you.” Tris couldn’t stop the eyeroll. Even after she’d pinned him he still thought she needed his help.

“He’s being irrational. It would be easier to come up with a strategy if I knew her target and if she knows I’m here.” He really had gone soft, if anyone needed protected it was him.

“Males tend to get protective over someone they see as their responsibility. I don’t know exactly what your relationship is or was but he seems to be under the impression that this is his fault.”

“He’s right.” Tris let out a groan as all four Miraculous users were tied together with one bola. This was nothing but a disaster. “Which is why he needs to keep his head and do what’s necessary instead of make my life harder, again.” She needed a new plan. Maybe she really did need to send them all elsewhere until this was over.

“That’s a lot of hostility Baby Death, want to talk about it?”

“You want to talk about why you hate Talia so much?” Tris winced as soon as the words came out. She really needed to get a hold of herself. This was another reason she stayed away from people. “Sorry.”

“Nah, I deserved that. Your business is your business and I’ve already overstepped.” Tris looked back in time to see the younger Blake brother tie Adrien up with his own tail. This was just pathetic. She was out of options.

“Call Gina and set up a time for me to meet her privately to explain things. Do not tell her what it’s about or that I’m the client.” Worst case scenario she could send them off with her Nonna to protect them. Tris just had to figure out how to keep Gina from learning that Talia was involved. Yeah, she was screwed and this just kept getting more complicated. She never should have stayed in Paris.

“I can try but she’s pretty picky about her clients. Hopefully she’ll just let me vouch for you.” Tris didn’t respond. She had a feeling that just mentioning Paris would bring the woman running. She just hoped she didn’t bring reinforcements. They watched as the Blakes incapacitated all the Miraculous users, again. “I’ll be as persuasive as possible, but you might want to be coming up with contingency plans. Damian is at least trained.” Tris felt her eye twitch.

“I always have contingency plans, but he will never be a part of them.” Her eyes went to the string that led to Damian. It was still pulsing and that worried her. All of this was still too new and she had no idea what most of it meant. She couldn’t afford to have unknowns right now and that string felt… off. She was going to have to deal with it sooner rather than later no matter how much she didn’t want to go near him.

“We’re done for the night.” Tris’s announcement brought relief from everyone. “Go home and get some rest.”

“What about you?” Chloe’s voice was half concerned and half demanding.

“I have a problem to deal with.”


	44. Chapter 44

“You need to leave.” Watching Damian start before turning towards her in a defensive stance was more amusing than she would have thought. “You’re losing your instincts al Ghul. Living a soft life is going to get you killed again.” Tris watched him settle into his formal ‘holier than thou’ persona and had to fight not to roll her eyes. She didn’t really want him on the defensive but it was his fault for not being more aware of his surroundings.

“How did you get in here?” She just raised an eyebrow at him. Hotel security was the realm of neophytes. She was a bit insulted he still thought so little of her skills. “Blake said you refuse to let them supply you.”

“I refuse to let you buy anything for me. That’s not the same thing. It also doesn’t change the fact that you need to leave.” He simply glared at her but Tris just waited. This nonsense she was used to and she still didn’t understand why he still tried to intimidate her when she’d never once backed down to him. Even when she should have.

“You have no proof that she’s coming for me and I’m not about to leave you here defenseless.” She couldn’t help the eyeroll.

“I assume your father is to blame for this new found sense of responsibility, unnecessary though it may be. I’m far from defenseless and given that I took you down with little effort you’re not the one I would want at my back anyway.” He actually flinched at that and there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t identify. She felt a twinge of guilt but had no idea why.

“I’m sorry.” Tris could only blink at him in confusion. He really had changed. In the past, challenging his worth like that would have resulted in an explosion. The stiffness he was radiating now was discomfort rather than pride. How strange. “I know we’re no longer attached but it was my job to protect you and I failed. I’m not going to leave you to face this threat alone. No matter how capable you may be.” Tris felt her brain just stop. That was the closest he’d ever come to complimenting her.

“You were a child, still are technically. You’d only been exposed to your mother’s worldview. There wasn’t anything you could have done.” Yes she was still bitter about how everything had happened but she knew that it wasn’t his fault. She still didn’t want anything to do with him because of their history, but she wasn’t so stubborn she couldn’t see past her feelings to what had actually happened.

“I should have made her look for you when she took me to Father. If I had refused to go without you she wouldn’t have had a choice.” Tris was fairly certain Talia would have knocked him out before wasting time looking for someone she had deemed worthless. Not to mention she had already run by that point so it wouldn’t have mattered.

“You know she wouldn’t have. I imagine you know better than most the lengths she’ll go to to rid herself of those she considers problems.” The look of shock on his face was all the confirmation she needed that his mother had been instrumental in planning his death. Her guilt came back with a vengeance. He wasn’t the only one who’d been absent when needed. “Besides, I do better on my own. The fewer moving pieces to worry about the better.” And there were already far too many.

“Perhaps, but I know the woman better than anyone. I’m a valuable source of information. Either way, I’m not leaving.” Tris couldn’t help the frustrated sigh that escaped. His amused smile made her want to knock him out and use Kaalki to send him back to Gotham.

“You staying means we won’t know which of us she’s after until it’s too late. Not to mention you’re out of your element here. I have a feeling you have far better protections at home. She’s counting on you being easier to get to and she’s right.” He may be certain his mother was after her but she knew it was likely the opposite. Even the Blakes agreed with her on that. “It’s suicidal for you to stay here given what we know.”

Before he could argue with her the door to the adjoining suite opened admitting his father and another man into the room. Both stopped short as soon as they saw her. She wasn’t certain what to expect but Mr. Wayne seemed to be fighting a smile and the other just looked confused for a moment before excitement took over.

“Oh my god, you’re so cute! And you’ve got the signature hair and eyes. How did you manage to keep Bruce from adopting you immediately?” The man was obviously insane.

“This is why I make sure people know you’re adopted.” For all his huffy tone, Tris could hear some affection in Damian’s voice and when she looked she saw the deep purple string connecting them. She felt jealousy well up but it was the pain that surprised her. She’d been alone so long she thought the hurt from losing her parents was gone.

“Leave, before it’s too late.” She spoke to Damian but didn’t wait for a response before exiting through the window. The last thing she wanted to deal with was one more person trying to take over her life or tell her what to do. She’d never been as willing as Damian to follow orders.

As she made her way across the city she could feel someone following her. Someone she couldn’t get a proper read on. Someone who was extremely well trained. As soon as she noticed she was being followed a string formed. It was light gray, darkening by the minute, but there was no indication of intent. She was fairly certain if they meant to harm her it would be obvious in the string, but she couldn’t chance that she was wrong. So she led them on a random chase across the city in the hopes she could lose them. If that didn’t work… well that was a problem for later.


End file.
